Generation characteristics of fungal spore and fragment bioaerosols by airflow control over fungal cultures

Abstract

We investigated the generation characteristics of airborne fungal fragments and spores by means of a newly developed fungal bioaerosol generation system that directs airflow to the fungal cultures horizontally. By controlling the airflow over the fungal cultures inside the generation system, we can produce three aerosolization modes of fungal bioaerosols: (i) fungal spores only, (ii) fungal fragments only, and (iii) a mixture of fragments and spores. As concerns over fungal fragments and spores have grown due to the adverse health effects of fungal bioaerosols, this generation study can be applied to develop techniques for controlling airborne fungal particles through means such as antifungal material tests, fungal bioaerosol filtering or sampling tests, and fungal bioaerosol inactivation tests. In addition, the generation system presented here simulates the environmental dispersal of fungal bioaerosols. Therefore, the results of this study can be interpreted as equivalent to the natural dispersal characteristics of fungal bioaerosols.