Improvement of mould resistance of wood with cinnamaldehyde chitosan emulsion

Abstract

Mould fungi can grow on virtually any substrate and are particularly common on cellulosic materials such as wood. Fungicides can limit the risk of mould attack, but increasing concerns about pesticide use have encouraged a search for more natural protection methods. Cinnamaldehyde is a promising antifungal candidate, but has not been fully effective. In this study, chitosan and cinnamaldehyde were used to prepare an emulsion to reduce the volatility of cinnamaldehyde, and the antimould performance of the emulsion-treated wood was evaluated. The ability of cinnamaldehyde chitosan emulsion was assessed for inhibiting mould growth as well as its effect on membrane function and hyphal morphology of Aspergillus niger. Cinnamaldehyde chitosan emulsion can reduce the amount of free cinnamaldehyde, thereby increasing the retention rate of cinnamaldehyde. The control ability of wood treated with 3.0:1.0 molar ratio of aldehyde to amino group in cinnamaldehyde chitosan emulsion against A. niger was 95.8%. Mould growth was limited in the presence of the emulsion. The treatment appeared to disrupt cell membrane function as evidenced by increased levels of extracellular proteins and nucleic acids. The results suggest that the cinnamaldehyde chitosan emulsion improved the stability of cinnamaldehyde in aqueous solution as well as effectively protected wood from mould.

Research Progress on the Improvement of Flame Retardancy, Hydrophobicity, and Antibacterial Properties of Wood Surfaces

“…Bi et al [ 102 ] prepared modified solvents with chitosan and cinnamaldehyde as raw materials. After treating wood with the modified solvents, they studied the inhibitory effect of cinnamaldehyde chitosan modified solvent on the growth of Aspergillus niger on the wood surface.…”

Fungal Selectivity and Biodegradation Effects by White and Brown Rot Fungi for Wood Biomass Pretreatment

“…Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity dimmed compared with the sound wood as well. It can be inferred that T. versicolor depolymerized the lignin along with the colonization of the hyphae and spread in the cell lumina [58]. After exposed to brown rot fungi, the fluorescence intensity of wood samples weakened and the cell walls became thinner at 16 weeks, implying lignin can be modified at the advanced stages [56].…”

Chitosan–caffeine formulation as an ecological preservative in wood protection

“…The weight loss of wood treated with solution of caffeine and chitosan after the leaching procedure was about 10%, which suggests that application of chitosan limited leaching of caffeine from the wood structure, but it did not completely retain caffeine in the wood. According to the literature data, wood was impregnated with a mixture of chitosan and various bioactive compounds or substances, including propolis, silver nanoparticles, cinnamaldehyde, (3-(2-aminoethylamino)propyl) trimethoxysilane or as a chitosan-copper complex with organic fungicides (tebuconazole and propiconazole), and showed resistance against decay wood fungi (C. puteana, T. versicolor and G. trabeum) and molds (A. niger, P. citrinum and T. viride) (Sun et al 2012;Silva-Castro et al 2018;Casado-Sanz et al 2019;Bi et al 2021;Fang et al 2021). The results of the preliminary research indicated that addition of chitosan from crab shells to caffeine solution resulted in a reduction in the caffeine concentration needed to inhibit the mold (A. niger, P. funiculosum, P. variotti and T. viride) growth (Kwaśniewska-Sip et al 2019b).…”

“…The molecular size of chitosan and its concentration also impact the anti-mold properties of chitosan-treated wood (Gorgij et al 2014;El-Gamal et al 2016;Oldertrøen et al 2017). Chitosan was also applied to wood treatment in combination with other substances, including cinnamaldehyde, polyethylene glycol, propolis extract and silver nanoparticles (Silva-Castro et al 2018;Casado-Sanz et al 2019;Bi et al 2021;Fang et al 2021).…”