Application of solid‐phase microextraction with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the early detection of active moulds on historical woollen objects

Abstract

The goal of this work was to determine the microbial volatile organic compounds emitted by moulds growing on wool in search of particular volatiles mentioned in the literature as indicators of active mould growth. The keratinolytically active fungi were inoculated on two types of media: (1) samples of wool placed on broths, and (2) on broths containing amino acids that are elements of the structure of keratin. All samples were prepared inside 20 mL vials (closed system). In the first case (1) the broths did not contain any sources of organic carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur, i.e. wool was the only nutrient for the moulds. A third type of sample was historical wool prepared in a Petri dish without a broth and inoculated with a keratinolytically active mould (open system). The microbial volatiles emitted by moulds were sampled with the headspace solid-phase microextraction method. Volatiles extracted on solid-phase microextraction fibers were analyzed in a gas chromatography with mass spectrometry system. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of chromatograms were carried out in search of indicators of metabolic activity. The results showed that there are three groups of volatiles that can be used for the detection of active forms of moulds on woollen objects.

In Vitro Systems for Toxicity Evaluation of Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds on Humans: Current Status and Trends

“…One application is in the preservation of historical materials in archives and museums, such as historical silk, parchment or wool. Several studies have described mVOCs as suitable biomarkers for a possible hidden fungal contamination in these places [69][70][71]. Other studies where mVOC fingerprinting methods have been used are on fungal growth detection on cinematographic film.…”

Mass spectrometry in art conservation—With focus on paintings

“…A piece of material was placed in the pyrolysis chamber to release VOCs. To detect fungi infecting art objects, VOCs were sampled in a similar way, as shown in Figure 7, using SPME, followed by GC/MS analysis (Sawoszczuk et al, 2017a(Sawoszczuk et al, , 2017b. A serious drawback of such an approach is a need to withdraw a substantial piece of the object (several sq.…”

Identification of chemical components in Baidianling Capsule based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and high‐performance liquid chromatography combined with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

“…Chromatography coupled with MS capable of high resolution, high accuracy, and high sensitivity has become a dominant method to identify multiple active constituents of TCM . Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry(GC–MS) has the capability and advantage to produce precise mass measurements, which can confirm or exclude potential molecular formulas . Meanwhile, retention index (RI) has been used for compound identification with high accuracy.…”