Search

The sessile drop technique was used to investigate the evolution of the physicochemical properties of cedar wood as a function of contact time with thePenicillium expansumspores. The most important finding showed that the impact of different contact periods (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 hr) on the wood surface were very indicative. In fact, after 2 hr of contact, the results have shown a significant impact of the bioadhesion of spores to the substrate on both the hydrophobic character (θW = 108.5°; ΔGiwi = −28.25 mJ/m2), the electron donor (γ− = 13.63 mJ/m2), and the electron acceptor (γ+ = 4.35 mJ/m2) parameters that were significantly reduced compared to the initial wood (θW = 118.5°; ΔGiwi = −6.29 mJ/m2; γ− = 32.1 mJ/m2; and γ+ = 9.1 mJ/m2). In addition, this decrease of parameters continued over time to stabilize after 10 hr of contact. Indeed, after 24 hr, the acid/base properties were almost zero and the contact angle with water decreased to 30°. Moreover, it was found that the coefficient of correlation (r2) was strong between the contact angle with water, the surface energy, and the electron acceptor character with the contact time parameter with values (r2 = 0.65), (r2 = 0.79), and (r2 = 0.68), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decay and deterioration of wood by bacteria and fungi are becoming very serious problems because of the resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents. Thus, this study was aimed at investigating the anti-adhesion effect ofMyrtus communisandThymus vulgarisextracts obtained by classical and ultrasonic extraction, against ofPenicillium communespores isolated from fez Medina cedar wood. According to environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) analysis, the results showed that all extracts tested have proven their ability to inhibit the adhesion of the fungal spores studied. In addition, the extract of each plant obtained by ultrasonication showed a low percentage (47% and 33%) of fungal spores adherent to a wood substrate compared to those recovered by maceration (68%). Furthermore,M. communisextracts have shown outstanding anti-adhesive activity, similar to that demonstrated by those ofT. vulgaris. Finally, the treatment of wood byM. communisextracts obtained by ultrasonication showed a very important anti-adhesive activity at a concentration of 20 mg/mL compared to that at 5 mg/mL. Therefore, these extracts can be considered a potential source of bioactive metabolites acting as anti-adhesion molecules in novel formulations for the cedar wood preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]