LoginAccurate and informative sampling methods are very important in the evaluation of fungalexposure in indoor air quality (IAQ) investigations. We have investigated the relationshipbetween indoor culturable airborne and dust-borne fungi and compared the performance ofculturable and non-culturable air samplersReuter Centrifugal Air Sampler (RCS) and ZefonAi-O-CellTM (AOC). Two 12-h investigations were conducted and two dust samples werecollected in each of the two typical office premises in Hong Kong in autumn and winter, 2001.Culturable samples were incubated on Dichloran Glycerol 18 and 2% Malt Extract Agar at25C. The results indicate more diverse and abundant fungal species were present in dustsamples than in air in both seasons. Simpsons Diversity Index values in dust samples were16-18% higher than that in air samples and also with much higher counts (>500 times)recorded. Our investigation also shows that higher fungal counts (25-110 times higher) butwith similar species diversity (Orchiai Similarity Index 0.81-0.86) were collected by AOC,compared with RCS in both seasons. The dominant fungi collected in dust and air sampleswere Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp. and Cladosporium spp., with increased dominance ofCladosporium spp. in winter. This study suggests that more informative IAQ investigationson fungi can be conducted by collecting culturable samples in dust and non-culturablesamples in air.
A comparative study of qualitative sampling methods for the analysis of the indoor air moulds
Year:
2003
Bibliographic info:
Healthy Buildings 2003 - Proceedings 7th International Conference (7th-11th December 2003) - National University of Singapore - Vol. 1., pp 679-684, 2 Fig., 4 Tab., 17 Ref.