Abstract
The aim of the study was to develop a method for early detection and identification of fungal contamination of building materials using an electronic nose. Therefore, the laboratory experiments based on the analysis of the air in the vicinity of fungal isolates potentially found in the building materials were performed. The results revealed that the employed gas sensors array consisting of MOS-type sensors enables the detection of the differences among the examined samples of fungi and distinguishing between the non-contaminated and contaminated samples, shortly after fungal contamination occurs. Electronic nose readouts were analysed using Principal Component Analysis and the results were verified with standard chromatographic analysis by means of SPME-GC/MS method, which proved that gas sensors array can be applied for early detection of fungal contamination.
Highlights
Microorganisms inhabit different types of biological niches on the Earth, due to their adaptability to varying environmental conditions
During the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) analyses, two main components were determined: PC1, which accounts for 80.7% of variance and PC2, which accounts for 10.9% of information concerning the initial set of data
According to the research on the air analysis performed by means of MOS-type sensors array on the headspace of building materials contaminated and non-contaminated by fungal isolates, following conclusions may be formulated: 1. The employed electronic nose with thin-film MOS-type sensors enables the detection of the differences among the examined samples
Summary
Microorganisms inhabit different types of biological niches on the Earth, due to their adaptability to varying environmental conditions. It is well-known that microorganisms cause deterioration of various materials. The detection and identification of fungal contamination of buildings was based on culture-dependent methods. Such approach was time-consuming and required specialized laboratory equipment. In spite of many advantages, these methods provide limited information because they only identify viable organisms capable of growth under standard laboratory conditions. Majority of microorganisms in natural samples cannot be cultured according to standard procedures and the culture-dependent methods provide limited information on the biodiversity of microorganisms thriving on objects.
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