The dissemination of mold spores and derivatives in water damaged buildings

霉菌是室外和室内环境中普遍存在的多细胞真菌，需要源源不断的 水、氧气、有机物质，以及适合生长发育的温度。暴露在霉菌中可能 通过吸入、摄取和接触发霉的表面而发生，但可能会对健康产生不利影响 通过过敏、传染、刺激性或有毒的过程。而通过胃肠道暴露于毒素 都得到了很好的描述，吸入性暴露于霉菌毒素和 对健康的不利影响是有争议的，需要进行广泛的调查。在缺乏真实数据的情况下 真菌毒素的释放，这项工作的目的是进行实验研究，以获得基本的 对棘手问题的回答，特别是检查孢子释放到空气中的速度，出现 微生物衍生的挥发性有机化合物(MVOCs)和持续损害的真菌毒素 建筑材料和与居住者暴露的关系。研究将在一个 环境控制室模拟被水损坏的地下室墙壁。各种普通化学品和 生物参数将被纳入，包括二氧化碳和颗粒物作为室内示踪剂 作为替代生物标志物的环境条件和内毒素和麦角甾醇浓度。空气样本： 室内的霉菌孢子将用狭缝冲击器收集，以进行直接的显微分析。MVOCS将 被收集在木炭吸附管上，并用气相色谱分析总VOCs。这项研究将 帮助了解霉菌生长和可能的补救过程导致的不同毒素的排放。

Molds are ubiquitous multicellular fungi in outdoor and indoor environments requiring a continuous source of water, oxygen, organic material, and suitable temperature for growth and development. Exposure to mold can occur through inhalation, ingestion, and touching moldy surfaces, while adverse health effects may occur through allergic, infectious, irritant, or toxic processes. While, exposures to toxins via the gastrointestinal tract are well described, the cause-and-effect relationship between inhalational exposure to mold toxins and untoward health effects is controversial and requires extensive investigation. In absence of real data on the release of fungal toxins, the objective of this work is to conduct an experimental study to obtain fundamental answers to vexing questions examining, in particular, the rate of spore release into the air, the emergence of microbiologically derived volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) and mycotoxins from continued damage of building construction materials and the relationships to occupant exposures. Studies will be conducted in an environmentally controlled chamber simulating a water damaged basement wall. Various general chemical and biological parameters will be incorporated, including carbon dioxide and particulates as tracers of indoor environmental conditions and endotoxin and erogsterol concentrations as surrogate biomarkers. Air samples for mold spores in the chamber will be collected with slit impactors for direct microscopic analysis. MVOCS will be collected on charcoal sorbent tubes and analyzed for total VOCs by gas chromatography. This research will help to understand the emission of different toxins due to mold growth and possible remediation processes.