Determination of microbial volatile organic compounds adsorbed on house dust particles and gypsum board using SPME/GC-MS

Abstract

We used SPME combined with GC-MS to study the adsorption and desorption of MVOCs on house dust particles that had been exposed to cultivated molds and molds in a damp building. Adsorbed MVOCs desorb spontaneously but this process can be slowed down by storing samples at -20 degrees or -80 degrees C. This opens up a possibility to apply SPME/GC-MS to reveal mold growth in buildings and to determine MVOCs in respirable dust particles that may reach deep in the respiratory system and lead to respiratory illnesses.

Detection of volatile metabolites of moulds isolated from a contaminated library

“…However, the use of only one kind of medium for each fungal species (MEA or MEA15%) probably limited the MVOC emission. In fact, it is well-known how the production is strictly growth substrate-dependent (Matysik et al, 2009;Moularat et al, 2008) and several kinds of culture media, included contaminated building materials or settled dust samples, were generally included in the experiments (Korpi et al, 1997;Matysik et al, 2008;Vishwanath et al, 2011;Wady and Larsson, 2005;Wady et al, 2003;Wilkins et al, 2000). On the other hand, working with Cultural Heritage has often limitations and, because of the preciousness of the artefacts, most of the applied methods need to be non-invasive (Kostadinovska, 2015;Manente et al, 2012).…”

“…1-octen-3-ol and 3-octanol, as well as ketones and furans were addressed as indicators of mould, recognised both on pure culture studied, on agar substrate, and on wallpaper and building materials (Polizzi et al, 2012). Aspergillus and Penicillium are the most investigated fungal genera in MVOC studies (Fiedler et al, 2001;Matysik et al, 2008Matysik et al, , 2009Moularat et al, 2008;Polizzi et al, 2012;Schuchardt and Kruse, 2009;Wady et al, 2003, Wady andLarsson, 2005) because of their ubiquity in indoor environments (Cabral, 2010;Samson et al, 2004), also in association with the biodeterioration of Cultural Heritage (Micheluz et al, 2015;Sterflinger, 2010;Zyska, 1997). However, in the recent years, specific fungal contamination emerged inside Italian archives and library, mainly caused by a xerophilic fungus with a lack of knowledge about its MVOC emission capability, i.e.…”

Indoor Air Monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds and Evaluation of Their Emission from Various Building Materials and Common Products by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

“…Primary emissions are emissions of non-bound or free VOCs within building materials; these are generally low molecular weight compounds utilized in additives, solvents and unreacted raw materials like monomers. Secondary emissions refer to VOCs that were originally chemically or physically bound, and are usually generated following decomposition, oxidation, chain scission, sorption processes, maintenance, or microbial action, followed by their emission (Pedersen et al, 2003;Lee et al, 2005;Wady & Larsson, 2005;Araki et al, 2009 and.…”

Investigation of Mold Growth in Indoor School Buildings by Monitoring Outgassed Methyl Benzoate as a MVOC Biomarker

“…A previous study [15] suggested that airborne fungal metabolites get inhaled and enter the bronchia and alveoli in lungs, where the spores could be lysed and exposing the human body to the various harmful metabolites. Furthermore, the fungal metabolites can be adsorbed onto respirable airborne particulates to pose an exposure risk to humans by breathing [16].…”