Fungal aerosols consist of spores and fragments with diverse array of morphologies; however, the size, shape, and origin of the constituents require further characterization. In this study, we characterize the profile of aerosols generated from Aspergillus fumigatus, A. versicolor, and Penicillium chrysogenum grown for 8 weeks on gypsum boards. Fungal particles were aerosolized at 12 and 20 L min−1 using the Fungal Spore Source Strength Tester (FSSST) and the Stami particle generator (SPG). Collected particles were analyzed with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). We observed spore particle fraction consisting of single spores and spore aggregates in four size categories, and a fragment fraction that contained submicronic fragments and three size categories of larger fragments. Single spores dominated the aerosols from A. fumigatus (median: 53%), while the submicronic fragment fraction was the highest in the aerosols collected from A. versicolor (median: 34%) and P. chrysogenum (median: 31%). Morphological characteristics showed near spherical particles that were only single spores, oblong particles that comprise some spore aggregates and fragments (<3.5 μm), and fiber-like particles that regroup chained spore aggregates and fragments (>3.5 μm). Further, the near spherical particles dominated the aerosols from A. fumigatus (median: 53%), while oblong particles were dominant in the aerosols from A. versicolor (68%) and P. chrysogenum (55%). Fiber-like particles represented 21% and 24% of the aerosols from A. versicolor and P. chrysogenum, respectively. This study shows that fungal particles of various size, shape, and origin are aerosolized, and supports the need to include a broader range of particle types in fungal exposure assessment.

中文翻译：

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用场发射扫描电子显微镜 (FESEM) 表征的真菌气溶胶的轮廓和形态

真菌气溶胶由形态各异的孢子和碎片组成；然而，成分的大小、形状和来源需要进一步表征。在这项研究中，我们表征了从在石膏板上生长 8 周的烟曲霉、杂色曲霉和黄青霉产生的气溶胶的特征。使用真菌孢子源强度测试仪 (FSSST) 和斯塔米粒子发生器 (SPG) 在 12 和 20 L min-1 下雾化真菌颗粒。用场发射扫描电子显微镜（FESEM）分析收集的颗粒。我们观察到孢子颗粒部分由四个大小类别的单个孢子和孢子聚集体组成，以及一个包含亚微米碎片和三个大小类别的较大碎片的碎片部分。单个孢子在 A 的气溶胶中占主导地位。fumigatus（中位数：53%），而在从花斑曲霉（中位数：34%）和 P. chrysogenum（中位数：31%）收集的气溶胶中，亚微米碎片分数最高。形态特征显示近球形颗粒仅是单个孢子，椭圆形颗粒包含一些孢子聚集体和碎片（<3.5 μm），以及重新组合链状孢子聚集体和碎片的纤维状颗粒（>3.5 μm）。此外，近球形颗粒在来自烟曲霉（中位数：53%）的气溶胶中占主导地位，而在来自花斑曲霉（68%）和 P. chrysogenum（55%）的气溶胶中，椭圆形颗粒占主导地位。纤维状颗粒分别占 A. versicolor 和 P. chrysogenum 气溶胶的 21% 和 24%。这项研究表明，不同大小、形状和来源的真菌颗粒被雾化，