During his tenure at the University of Leicester, working for Professors Andy Ellis and Paul Monks, Dr Wyche was involved in the initial conceptualization and set up of the University of Leicester’s Real-time Air FingerprinTing (RAFT) laboratory. RAFT is a unique, cutting edge facility that specialises in the use of mass spectrometric techniques for the detailed analysis of air signatures. Over recent years the RAFT laboratory has been tasked to investigate a range of issues across numerous sectors, including
• Indoor air quality: for the evolution of harmful Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from paints
• Forensic science: for the detection of arson accelerants at fire scenes
• Defence and security: for the rapid detection and identification of chemical weapons
• Food and beverage industry: for the analysis of whiskey aroma for product quality
Most recently, RAFT instrumentation has been used for the analysis of levoglucosan (a wood burning “marker”) in particle samples collected across Europe as part of the JOAQUIN project.
