AIR SAMPLING FOR FUNGI IN INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

Mould growth in buildings is a major health issue, but most investigat ions of the indoor air spora still employ culture-based methods. These are inadequate for assessing exposure, since culturable organisms com prise a small fraction of the total of potentially allergenic/toxigeni c units in air. For epidemiological studies, measurement of airborne f ungal biomass over extended periods may be more relevant than total co unts. Whilst (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan has been used to assess airborne bi omass, ergosterol may be the best indicator of exposure. For case stud ies, patients' serum has been used to detect specific spores on sample r slides, and both highly specific and less specific antisera could be used either via fluorescent antibody technique or enzyme-linked immun osorbent assays. In the future, solid-phase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) may be used to detect pathogens or other well-characterized pote ntially harmful species, and in at least some groups mycotoxin/seconda ry metabolite/volatile profiles may be used in identification. (C) 199 7 Elsevier Science Ltd.