Direct assessment of microbial colonisation in damp houses by chemical marker analysis
Ergosterol was used as a marker of fungal biomass and 3-hydroxy fatty acids were used as markers of bacterial endotoxin to determine microbial colonisation of building materials by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Pieces (0.3-0.5 g) of materials from two water-damaged buildings were hydrolysed to liberate the markers from larger microbial structures; the preparations were then purified, deriv
