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Characterisation of the Microbial Community in Indoor Environments: a Chemical-Analytical Approach

Sebastian, Aleksandra LU (2005)
Abstract
Inhalation of airborne microorganisms and their toxic components and products may induce a wide spectrum of acute and chronic airway manifestations. The study describes important capabilities of chemical marker analysis in defining human exposure to microorganisms in indoor environments. An integrated procedure is presented where gas chromatography - ion trap tandem mass spectrometry is used to determine chemical markers of gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (3-hydroxy fatty acids with 10-16 carbon atoms), gram-positive bacteria (branched-chain fatty acids with 15 and 17 carbon atoms), bacterial peptidoglycan (muramic acid), and fungal biomass (ergosterol). A hydrolysate of 13C-labelled cyanobacterial cells was used as an internal... (More)
Inhalation of airborne microorganisms and their toxic components and products may induce a wide spectrum of acute and chronic airway manifestations. The study describes important capabilities of chemical marker analysis in defining human exposure to microorganisms in indoor environments. An integrated procedure is presented where gas chromatography - ion trap tandem mass spectrometry is used to determine chemical markers of gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (3-hydroxy fatty acids with 10-16 carbon atoms), gram-positive bacteria (branched-chain fatty acids with 15 and 17 carbon atoms), bacterial peptidoglycan (muramic acid), and fungal biomass (ergosterol). A hydrolysate of 13C-labelled cyanobacterial cells was used as an internal standard for the first three markers (13C-labelled 3-hydroxytridecanoic acid from labelled Pectinatus cerevisiiphilus was used as an alternative internal standard to improve quantification of the 3-hydroxy fatty acids) and dehydrocholesterol served as an internal standard for ergosterol. These analyses required two 1-5 mg dust samples, one for 3-hydroxy fatty acids, non-hydroxylated fatty acids and muramic acid, and another for ergosterol. The method was used to distinguish between microbial communities in settled and air-borne house dust samples collected from different locations indoors. Both quantitative and qualitative (marker profiles) differences were detected among the studied locations. Air concentrations of 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid were 4-63 times higher in rooms of smoking students than in parallel rooms of non-smoking students demonstrating that cigarette smoke may be a major source of endotoxin in indoor environments. Settled dust (collected on the floor and from surfaces above the floor) did not show different amounts of lipopolysaccharide with regard to smoking. A school survey demonstrated that the levels of muramic acid were much higher in occupied rooms than in the same rooms when unoccupied. Notably, the levels of 3-hydroxy fatty acids were only slightly higher in occupied than unoccupied rooms suggesting an alteration in bacterial population. Also the particle size distribution in schoolrooms was shown to be quite different in occupied than in unoccupied rooms. This thesis has resulted in the development of a universally applicable method for characterising microbial populations in matrices that are complex chemically. This method forms a basis for epidemiological studies on health consequences upon microbial exposure in indoor environments. (Less)
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author
supervisor
opponent
  • Docent Norbäck, Dan, Institutionen för Medicinska Vetenskaper Arbets- och Miljömedicin Akademiska Sjukhuset, Uppsala
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
indoor air, microbial chemical markers, asthma, allergies, tobacco smoke, Infektioner, Infections
pages
103 pages
publisher
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University
defense location
Department of Laboratory Medicine Div. of Medical Microbiology Sölvegatan 23 223 62 Lund Patologen Förläsningssal
defense date
2005-10-03 13:00:00
ISBN
91-628-6591-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
A. Sebastian and L. Larsson. 2003. Characterisation of the microbial community in indoor environments : a chemical-analytical approach Applied and environmental microbiology, vol 69 pp 3103-3109. American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
A. Sebastian, A. Fox, W. Harley and L Larsson. 2004. Evaluation of muramic acid ester O-methyl acetate derivative for the determination of peptidoglycan in environmental samples by ion-trap GC-MSMS Journal of environmental monitoring / JEM, vol 6 pp 300-304. Royal Society of Chemistry
A. Sebastian, B. Szponar and L. Larsson. 2005. Characterization of the microbial community in indoor environments by chemical marker analysis : an update and critical evaluation Indoor air : international journal of indoor air quality and climate, vol 15 pp 20-26. Blackwell
A. Sebastian, C. Pehrson and L. Larsson.. . Tobacco smoke introduces large amounts of endotoxin into indoor air (manuscript)
A. Fox, W. Harley, A.C. Feigley, D. Salzberg, A. Sebastian and L. Larsson.. 2005. Large particles are responsible for elevated bacterial marker levels in school air upon occupation Journal of environmental monitoring / JEM, vol 7 pp 450-456. Royal Society of Chemistry
id
179fd04f-2c16-479e-9712-f5113723b924 (old id 545250)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:24:22
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:41:10
@phdthesis{179fd04f-2c16-479e-9712-f5113723b924,
  abstract     = {{Inhalation of airborne microorganisms and their toxic components and products may induce a wide spectrum of acute and chronic airway manifestations. The study describes important capabilities of chemical marker analysis in defining human exposure to microorganisms in indoor environments. An integrated procedure is presented where gas chromatography - ion trap tandem mass spectrometry is used to determine chemical markers of gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (3-hydroxy fatty acids with 10-16 carbon atoms), gram-positive bacteria (branched-chain fatty acids with 15 and 17 carbon atoms), bacterial peptidoglycan (muramic acid), and fungal biomass (ergosterol). A hydrolysate of 13C-labelled cyanobacterial cells was used as an internal standard for the first three markers (13C-labelled 3-hydroxytridecanoic acid from labelled Pectinatus cerevisiiphilus was used as an alternative internal standard to improve quantification of the 3-hydroxy fatty acids) and dehydrocholesterol served as an internal standard for ergosterol. These analyses required two 1-5 mg dust samples, one for 3-hydroxy fatty acids, non-hydroxylated fatty acids and muramic acid, and another for ergosterol. The method was used to distinguish between microbial communities in settled and air-borne house dust samples collected from different locations indoors. Both quantitative and qualitative (marker profiles) differences were detected among the studied locations. Air concentrations of 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid were 4-63 times higher in rooms of smoking students than in parallel rooms of non-smoking students demonstrating that cigarette smoke may be a major source of endotoxin in indoor environments. Settled dust (collected on the floor and from surfaces above the floor) did not show different amounts of lipopolysaccharide with regard to smoking. A school survey demonstrated that the levels of muramic acid were much higher in occupied rooms than in the same rooms when unoccupied. Notably, the levels of 3-hydroxy fatty acids were only slightly higher in occupied than unoccupied rooms suggesting an alteration in bacterial population. Also the particle size distribution in schoolrooms was shown to be quite different in occupied than in unoccupied rooms. This thesis has resulted in the development of a universally applicable method for characterising microbial populations in matrices that are complex chemically. This method forms a basis for epidemiological studies on health consequences upon microbial exposure in indoor environments.}},
  author       = {{Sebastian, Aleksandra}},
  isbn         = {{91-628-6591-9}},
  keywords     = {{indoor air; microbial chemical markers; asthma; allergies; tobacco smoke; Infektioner; Infections}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Characterisation of the Microbial Community in Indoor Environments: a Chemical-Analytical Approach}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4663166/545257.pdf}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}