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Determination of Microbial Colonisation in Water‐Damaged Buildings Using Chemical Marker Analysis by Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry
Author(s) -
Szponar Bogumila,
Larsson Lennart
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0668.2000.010001013.x
Subject(s) - ergosterol , gas chromatography , microorganism , environmental chemistry , contamination , gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , mass spectrometry , chemistry , biomass (ecology) , bacteria , chromatography , environmental science , food science , biology , ecology , biochemistry , genetics
Gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry was used to determine the microbial contents of building materials subjected to water damage in a laboratory experiment and of materials collected from houses affected by water during the flood in Klodzko in south‐western Poland, July 1997. The samples were examined for 3‐hydroxy fatty acids, markers of bacterial endotoxin, and ergosterol, marker of fungal biomass. The amounts of both 3‐hydroxy fatty acids and ergosterol were higher in materials that had been exposed to water than in unexposed ones. All markers were stable in the building materials for at least 6 weeks at room temperature and could thus be used to reveal microbial contamination even when cultivation results for bacteria and fungi were negative. Direct measurement of 3‐hydroxy fatty acids and ergosterol in human environments could be a useful method, e.g. in monitoring indoor air as regards presence of potentially harmful microorganisms and microbial constituents.