Adhesion of Aspergillus niger and Penicillium expansumspores on Fez cedar wood substrata

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the ability of Aspergillus niger and Penicillium expansum spores isolated on fez medina cedar wood to adhere to this substrata. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of both Aspergillus niger and Penicillium expansum spores and cedar wood were also determined to better understand the adhesion phenomenon. We found that spores surface were hydrophilic, strongly electron donating and weakly electron accepting using contact angle measurements. In contrast, wood surface was hydrophobic, exhibits a character relatively more electron-donor than electron-acceptor (γ− = 5.5; γ+ = 0). Acid-basic interactions were found at least to be involved in the adhesion step. Finally, quantitative adhesion study using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) combined with image analysis showed that Aspergillus niger spores (62%) adhered stronger than those of Penicillium expansum (30%).