Release and Characteristics of Fungal Fragments in Various Conditions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Keskinen J ; Leskinen JTT ; Mensah-Attipoe J ; Pasanen P ; Reponen T ; Saari S ; Veijalainen A-M
• Description:
  Intact spores and submicrometer size fragments are released from moldy building materials during growth and sporulation. It is unclear whether all fragments originate from fungal growth or if small pieces of building materials are also aerosolized as a result of microbial decomposition. In addition, particles may be formed through nucleation from secondary metabolites of fungi, such as microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs). In this study, we used the elemental composition of particles to characterize the origin of submicrometer fragments released from materials contaminated by fungi. Particles from three fungal species (Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides and Penicillium brevicompactum), grown on agar, wood and gypsum board were aerosolized using the Fungal Spore Source Strength Tester (FSSST) at three air velocities (5, 16 and 27 m/s). Released spores (optical size, dp = 0.8 um) and fragments (dp = 0.8 um) were counted using direct-reading optical aerosol instruments. Particles were also collected on filters, and their morphology and elemental composition analyzed using scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) coupled with an Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Among the studied factors, air velocity resulted in the most consistent trends in the release of fungal particles. Total concentrations of both fragments and spores increased with an increase in air velocity for all species whereas fragment-spore (F/S) ratios decreased. EDX analysis showed common elements, such as C, O, Mg and Ca, for blank material samples and fungal growth. However, N and P were exclusive to the fungal growth, and therefore were used to differentiate biological fragments from non-biological ones. Our results indicated that majority of fragments contained N and P. Because we observed increased release of fragments with increased air velocities, nucleation of MVOCs was likely not a relevant process in the formation of fungal fragments. Based on elemental composition, most fragments originated from fungi, but also fragments from growth material were detected. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Dust Fungi Occupational Health Safety Volatile Organic Compounds
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Particles Air Contaminants Air Quality Measurement Air Velocity Author Keywords: Fragments Bioaerosols Elemental Analysis Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy Organic Dusts Scanning Electron Microscope VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds

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• ISSN:
  0048-9697
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  234-243
• Volume:
  547
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057748
• Citation:
  Sci Total Environ 2016 Mar; 547:234-243
• Contact Point Address:
  Tiina Reponen, Department of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1D, P. O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland
• Email:
  reponeta@ucmail.uc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Cincinnati
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Science of the Total Environment
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3fd0502c1966b401dad53f312343267c6ed458b947a77dbb7d66430e38244e15f8be5d50d5d055aeba2b6676ede13e3f6fda53e5a8cd7a47fe6eed2144e79300
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214985/cdc_214985_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.72 MB ]