Performance Assessment of UVAPS: Influence of Fungal Spore Age and Air Exposure

This work focused on two main outcomes. The first was the assessment of the response of the Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer Spectrometer (UVAPS) for two different fungal spore species. The UVAPS response was investigated as a function of fungal age and the frequency of air current that their colonies exposure to. This outcome was achieved through the measurement of fungal spore fluorescent percentage and fluorescent intensity throughout a period of culturing time (three weeks), and the study of their fluorescent percentage as a function of exposure to air currents. The second objective was to investigate the change of fungal spore size during this period, which may be of use as a co-factor in this differentiation. Fungal spores were released by blowing the surface of the culture colonies with continuous filtered flow air. The UVAPS was used to detect and measure auto-fluorescing biomolecules such as riboflavin and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD(P)H) present in the released fungal spores. The study demonstrated an increase in aerodynamic diameter for fungal spores under investigation (Aspergillus niger and Penicillium species) over a period of time. The fluorescent percentage of spores was found to decrease for both fungal genera as they aged. It was also found that the fluorescent percentage for tested fungi decreased with frequency of air exposure. The results showed that, while the UVAPS could discriminate between Aspergillus and Penicillium species under well-controlled laboratory conditions, it is unlikely to be able to do so in the field.