Fungi-induced paint deterioration and air contamination in the Assiut University hospital, Egypt

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the correlation between fungi causing paint deterioration and air contamination in Assiut University hospital to give a complete picture for the fungal quantity and spectrum. Seventeen fungal species were isolated from 15 samples of deteriorated water-based paint collected from the hospitals. Chaetomium globosum was the most common paint-deteriorating fungal species, followed by Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus parasiticus, Penicillium oxalicum and Setosphaeria rostrata. Direct examination confirmed the ability of these fungi to colonize the paint samples producing mycelia, conidia and fruiting bodies. In vitro, these fungi exhibited high potential to utilize the thin layer of polyacrylic paint and significant enzymatic activities of cellulase, lipase and urease that may play a main role in paint degradation and as virulence factor of human diseases. Moreover, 27 fungal species were isolated as air contaminating mycobiota. Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium cladosporioides, P. oxalicum, A. alternata and C. globosum caused a considerable amount of indoor air contamination. The results indicated that there is a clear correlation between fungi causing paint deterioration and air contamination, whereas certain fungi were responsible for wall paint deterioration and frequently indoor air contamination. The current study suggests that improvement of antimicrobial additives of paints may be a promising approach to reduce paint biodeterioration and subsequently air contamination of indoor environments.

Fungal bioprospecting and antifungal treatment on a deteriorated Brazilian contemporary painting

“…However, our results showed that strains of A. flavus had higher I CMC values than P. citrinum. These values suggest a greater potential for wood deterioration for A. flavus (Table 2) compared to previous studies (Abdel-Rahim et al 2018), reporting cellulolytic activity values as high as 0Á88 AE 0Á04 for this micro-organism.…”

“…These values suggest a greater potential for wood deterioration for A. flavus (Table ) compared to previous studies (Abdel‐Rahim et al . ), reporting cellulolytic activity values as high as 0·88 ± 0·04 for this micro‐organism.…”

A comparative Study on Mycoflora of Different Care Units in Suez Canal University Hospital, Egypt

“…The average indoor temperatures during the seasons of the study period were: winter: 20±2 °C, spring: 25 ±2 °C, summer: 33 ‫؛2±‬ °C, and autumn: 27 ±2 °C. Fans were set off during sampling (Bhatia & Vishwakarma, 2010;Ismail et al, 2018).…”

Tannin from Schinopsis balansae applied to the nanofunctionalization of protective antifungal coatings

“…Fungi are considered broadly versatile biodeteriogens, being able to thrive in materials and through their synergistic aesthetic, physical and chemical actions contribute to their biodeterioration [5][6][7]. Fungal biophysical biodeterioration can occur by the contraction and expansion of hyphae, leading to the breakdown of the paint film [8,9]. On the other hand, chemical biodeterioration occurs as a result of the action of exoenzymes and organic acids, leading to possible dissolution of the original components of the paint formulation [10,11].…”