Re: Testing a New House or Apartment /Leigh and others

[Guest guest]

are you a member of pca??? i am ordering those strips now. in quantity.

thanks.

barb1283 <barb1283@...> wrote:

I found this on Policyholders of America site. Advice on how to

test house before buying:

<http://policyholdersofamerica.org/mold_testing.htm>

There is also a description of a five minute test for detecting

toxins. Not sure if anyone has investigated how well it works but

link at Policy Holders site did not work for me so here is link for

the " Quicktox " test kits they mention there:

" The indoor air quality industry now has a new analytical technology

available in different formats. QuickTox™ strips can rapidly and

inexpensively identify Stachybotrys and Aspergillus niger on-site in

5 minutes. The QuantiTox™ plate kit can confirm mycotoxin-containing

spore presence and quantitate the level of spore-borne trichothecene

mycotoxins. Our new Home Test kit for these toxic molds gives

immediate results, at home, for the presence or absence of the mold

spores. "

<http://envirologix.com/>

[Guest guest]

Hi Leigh, no but I'm going to probably buy them.

It looks like they come in a pack of 50. Not

sure how they are reputed to work but it sounds

promising.

--- Leigh McCall-Alton <mccallalton@...>

wrote:

> are you a member of pca??? i am ordering those

> strips now. in quantity. thanks.

>

[Guest guest]

Bear in mind that you will have to find mold to test for these ELISA

tests to work.

If you find mold that you can test, these tests test for two specific

mold strains, stachybotrys and aspergillus niger.

For air testing, you need serious volumes of air and specialized

equipment to do testing..

See these papers for more info:

http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/71/11/7376

Detection of Airborne Stachybotrys chartarum Macrocyclic Trichothecene

Mycotoxins in the Indoor Environment

T. L. Brasel, J. M. , C. G. Carriker, S. C. , and D. C. Straus

Abstract:

The existence of airborne mycotoxins in mold-contaminated buildings

has long been hypothesized to be a potential occupant health risk.

However, little work has been done to demonstrate the presence of

these compounds in such environments. The presence of airborne

macrocyclic trichothecene mycotoxins in indoor environments with known

Stachybotrys chartarum contamination was therefore investigated. In

seven buildings, air was collected using a high-volume liquid

impaction bioaerosol sampler (SpinCon PAS 450-10) under static or

disturbed conditions. An additional building was sampled using an

Andersen GPS-1 PUF sampler modified to separate and collect

particulates smaller than conidia. Four control buildings (i.e., no

detectable S. chartarum growth or history of water damage) and outdoor

air were also tested. Samples were analyzed using a macrocyclic

trichothecene-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

ELISA specificity was tested using phosphate-buffered saline extracts

of the fungal genera Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Fusarium,

Memnoniella, Penicillium, Rhizopus, and Trichoderma, five Stachybotrys

strains, and the indoor air allergens Can f 1, Der p 1, and Fel d 1.

For test buildings, the results showed that detectable toxin

concentrations increased with the sampling time and short periods of

air disturbance. Trichothecene values ranged from <10 to >1,300 pg/m3

of sampled air. The control environments demonstrated statistically

significantly (P < 0.001) lower levels of airborne trichothecenes.

ELISA specificity experiments demonstrated a high specificity for the

trichothecene-producing strain of S. chartarum. Our data indicate that

airborne macrocyclic trichothecenes can exist in

Stachybotrys-contaminated buildings, and this should be taken into

consideration in future indoor air quality investigations.

-----

http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/71/1/114

Detection of Airborne Stachybotrys chartarum Macrocyclic Trichothecene

Mycotoxins on Particulates Smaller than Conidia

T. L. Brasel, D. R. , S. C. , and D. C. Straus*

Abstract:

Highly respirable particles (diameter, <1 µm) constitute the majority

of particulate matter found in indoor air. It is hypothesized that

these particles serve as carriers for toxic compounds, specifically

the compounds produced by molds in water-damaged buildings. The

presence of airborne Stachybotrys chartarum trichothecene mycotoxins

on particles smaller than conidia (e.g., fungal fragments) was

therefore investigated. Cellulose ceiling tiles with confluent

Stachybotrys growth were placed in gas-drying containers through which

filtered air was passed. Exiting particulates were collected by using

a series of polycarbonate membrane filters with decreasing pore sizes.

Scanning electron microscopy was employed to determine the presence of

conidia on the filters. A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent

assay (ELISA) specific for macrocyclic trichothecenes was used to

analyze filter extracts. Cross-reactivity to various mycotoxins was

examined to confirm the specificity. Statistically significant (P <

0.05) ELISA binding was observed primarily for macrocyclic

trichothecenes at concentrations of 50 and 5 ng/ml and 500 pg/ml (58.4

to 83.5% inhibition). Of the remaining toxins tested, only verrucarol

and diacetylverrucarol (nonmacrocyclic trichothecenes) demonstrated

significant binding (18.2 and 51.7% inhibition, respectively) and then

only at high concentrations. The results showed that extracts from

conidium-free filters demonstrated statistically significant (P <

0.05) antibody binding that increased with sampling time (38.4 to

71.9% inhibition, representing a range of 0.5 to 4.0 ng/ml).

High-performance liquid chromatography analysis suggested the presence

of satratoxin H in conidium-free filter extracts. These data show that

S. chartarum trichothecene mycotoxins can become airborne in

association with intact conidia or smaller particles. These findings

may have important implications for indoor air quality assessment.