Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School 



of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the 



Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 



MASS SPECTROMETRIC INVESTIGATIONS OF 

 MOSQUITO ATTRACTION TO HUMAN SKIN EMANATIONS 



By 



Ulrich R. Bernier 



December, 1995 



Chairperson: Richard A. Yost 

 Major Department: Chemistry 



Volatile compounds emanating from the host are the basis for chemical 

 attraction of mosquitoes. This work is centered upon the identification of volatile 

 emanations from the skin. The goal of this work is to provide the foundation for 

 predicting relative host attraction by comparison of components and their relative 

 abundance in samples. Altering the attraction of hosts (by changing the matrix 

 conditions on the skin) may assist in understanding the factors which produce 

 differences in attraction. 



The underlying premise to this work is that chemical analysis (conducted by 

 mass spectrometry) should allow for sample detection in a fashion similar to that 

 which mosquitoes encounter: a volatile sample in the gas phase. Therefore, the 

 sampling methods studied in this dissertation reflect that criterion. Direct thermal 



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