Role of Nanotechnology in the Management of Indoor Fungi

ERASMO GÁMEZ ESPINOSA; LEYANET BARBERIA ROQUE; NATALIA BELLOTTI

Nanobiotechnology in Diagnosis, Drug Delivery, and Treatment

WILEY

Año: 2020; p. 229 - 257

Concern over indoor fungal growth has increased over the last decades. Research that relateshuman health issues to the deterioration of indoor air quality due to microbiological pollutantshave been accumulated (Rath et al. 2011; Weber 2012; Täubel and Hyvärinen 2015). In addition,since the 1980s, it has been registered that there is an increase in the occurrence of natural disasters such as floods and extreme rainfall, on a global scale, which has enhanced the problems related to biodeterioration in indoor buildings (Bloom et al. 2009; Chow et al. 2019; EASAC 2018). It is worth mentioning that these kinds of events are directly related to fungal growth since water is akey factor in the development of these microorganisms (Johansson et al. 2013; Møller et al. 2017).Considering the strong impact of indoor fungi on public health, several guidelines have beenproposed from different European and North American institutions. These institutions include theUniversity of Connecticut Health Center, which proposed Guidance for Clinicians on theRecognition and Management of Health Effects Related to Mold Exposure and Moisture Indoors(Storey et al. 2004); the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), which proposedMold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings (EPA 2008); the World HealthOrganization (WHO), which proposed guidelines for indoor air quality, dampness, and mold(WHO 2009); the Canadian National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health MouldRemediation Recommendations (Palaty 2014); and the US Centers for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC), which proposed Mold Clean-Up After Disasters (2018), among others (US CDC2018). These guidelines proposed that there is a dose-effect relationship, where more visible moldshowed more symptoms. The improvement in molecular techniques enhances the interest in thefield of mycology because due to these techniques it becomes possible to understand the mechanisms by which fungi affect the health of exposed human being.