Microbial volatile organic compounds

Molds while growing produce various chemicals as a result of their primary metabolic processes. These processes are needed to ensure the continuation of the mold s life cycle. The gaseous metabolic products are collectively referred to as microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Some mVOCs are primary solvents and are chemically identical to those originating from solvent-based building materials and cleaning supplies (e.g., alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, hexane, methylene chloride, benzene, and acetone). 

Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds as Indicators for Hidden Mold Growth, Selection of Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds,... 

Table 7 Interpretation of microbial volatile organic compound (MTOC) results according to Lorenz [45], modified by Landesgesundheitsamt Baden-Wiirttemberg [58]. Sum of MVOC is the arithmetical sum of primary and secondary indicators ...

Keller R (2002) Microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) in Innenraumen Entwicklung einer Methode zur Detektion von MVOCs aus Schimmelpilzen. Fortschritt-Berichte VDI Reihe 17 Biotechnik/Medizintechnik (19).VDI,Dusseldorf... 

Ripp S, Daumer KA, McKnight T, Levine LH, Garland JL, Simpson ML, Sayler GS. Bioluminescent bioreporter integrated circuit sensing of microbial volatile organic compounds. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2003 30 636-42. 

Wessen B, Schoeps K-O. Microbial volatile organic compounds-what substances can be found in sick buildings Analyst 1996 121 1203-5. 

Kim JL, Elfman L, Mi Y, Wieslander G, Smedje G, Norback D, 2007. Indoor molds, bacteria, microbial volatile organic compounds and plasticizers in schools-associations with asthma and respiratory symptoms in pupils. Indoor Air 17,153-63. 

Kuske, M., Romain, A. C. and Nicolas, J. (2005) Microbial volatile organic compounds as indicators of fungi. Can an electronic nose detect fungi in indoor environments Build Environ., 40,824-31. 

Rasanen, R.M. Hakansson, M. Viljanen, M., Differentiation of air samples with and without microbial volatile organic compounds by aspiration ion mobility spectrometry and semiconductor sensors. Build. Environ. 2010,45, 2184—2191. 

Korpi A, Jamberg J, Pasanen A (2009) Microbial volatile organic compounds. Crit Rev Toxicol 39 139-193... 

Scotter, J. M., Langford, V. S., Wilson, P. F. et al. (2005) Real-time detection of common microbial volatile organic compounds from medically important fungi by selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometry (SlFT-MS). J. Microbiol. Methods 63, 127. 

Biovault is a commercially available, nonproprietary, ex situ treatment for soil and sediment contaminated with chlorinated and nonchlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs and VOCs). The basic biovault process is to promote the degradation of the existing soil contaminants in consolidated piles by stimulation of the indigenous (or augmented) microbial population. The process typically includes low-intensity aeration, moisture control, and supplementation with nutrients. 

Biofiltration is the removal and oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from contaminated air by fixed beds of compost, soil, or peat. Biofiltration involves microbial populations immobilized on suitable support media to degrade or transform contaminants using biofilms. 

Employee health may be adversely affected by indoor air contaminants including environmental tobacco smoke, volatile organic compounds, bioeffluents, microbial allergens, and Legionella (a bacterium). Some of these contaminants can cause discomfort eye, nose, and throat irritation humidifier fever and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Legionella can cause Legionnaires disease and Pontiac fever. Some contaminants may be carcinogenic. 

Biofiltration works to degrade a diversity of airborne contaminants, including industrial chemicals like styrene (Arnold et al. 1997), pentane and isobutane mixtures (Barton et al. 1997), toluene (Matteau and Ramsay 1997), chlorinated benzenes (Oh and Bartha 1994), dimethylsulfide (Pol et al. 1994), ethylene (Elsgaard 1998), and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs Leson and Winer 1991). Maintenance of good degrada-tive activity of biofilter microbial communities sometimes requires the addition of nutrients to the bioliltration matrix, since materials like peat or wood chips are generally nutrient poor. Adjustments and careful control of environmental variables such as temperature, pH, and availability of moisture (humidity) also are often required (Arnold et al. 1997 Matteau and Ramsay 1997). Removal rates for contaminants by biofilters can be impressive. For example, removal of vapors of chlorinated compounds (chlorinated benzenes, in one instance) was measured at 300 g of solvent vapor h m of filter volume (Oh and Bartha 1994). 

The possibility to correctly predict the sensorial attributes on the basis of the GC signals is relevant for authentication tasks. Aroma is one of the properties of this product mainly transformed during the ageing phase, due to microbial and chemical reactions. Thus, experimental data could be used to support the panel test evaluation, since the volatile organic compounds, which concur to the olfactory characteristics of ABTM, have a fundamental importance in the sensorial evaluation of the product. 

Mayrhofer, S., Mikoviny, T, Waldhuber, S. et al. (2006) Microbial community related to volatile organic compound (VOC) emission in household biowaste. Environ. Microbiol. 8, 1960. 

Microbial processes can also detoxify mercury ions and organic compounds by reducing the mercury to the elemental form, which is volatile (86). This certainly reduces the environmental impact of compounds such as methylmercury, however, such a bioprocess would have to include a mercury capture system before it could be exploited on a large scale with pubHc support. 

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