Abstract
Assessment of indoor air quality in terms of microbial flora is important since inhalation of air-borne microorganisms has been associated e.g. with asthma and allergy. We focus on certain unique microbial markers: muramic acid, marker of bacterial peptidoglycan/biomass; 3-hydroxy fatty acids with 10-18 carbon chains, markers of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) of Gram-negative bacteria; and ergosterol, marker of fungal biomass. An integrated method was developed recently for the determination of these markers in house dust. In brief, samples are subjected to acid/alkaline hydrolysis, purified with extractions, and derivatized for rendering them suitable for analysis with gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry The method can be used for characterisation of microbial communities in indoor environments as regards fungal biomass and endotoxin as well as relative amounts of Gram-negative/Gram-positive bacteria. The present investigation aims to show the influence of different storage conditions on stability of the markers.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Indoor Air 2005: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Vols 1-5 |
| Publisher | Tsinghua University Press |
| Pages | 2421-2424 |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |
| Event | 10th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate (Indoor Air 2005) - Beijing, Beijing, China Duration: 2005 Sept 4 → 2005 Sept 9 |
Conference
| Conference | 10th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate (Indoor Air 2005) |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | China |
| City | Beijing |
| Period | 2005/09/04 → 2005/09/09 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Microbiology in the Medical Area
Free keywords
- gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
- microbial markers
- house dust