Abstract Wood decay is an economically significant process, as it is one of the major causes of wood deterioration in buildings. In this study, the decay process of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) samples caused by cellar fungus (Coniophora puteana) was followed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods. Altogether, 30 wood sample pieces were exposed to fungus for 10 weeks. Based on the decrease of the dry mass, the samples were categorized into three classes: decomposed (mass decrease 50–70%), slightly decomposed (10–50%), and nondecomposed (<10%). MRI made it possible to identify the active regions of fungus inside the wood samples based on the signal of free water brought by the fungus and arisen from the decomposition of wood carbohydrates. MRI implies that free water is not only created by the decay process, but fungal hyphae also transports a significant amount of water into the sample. Two-dimensional 1H T1-T2 relaxation correlation NMR measurements provided detailed information about the changes in the microstructure of wood due to fungal decomposition. Overall, this study paves the way for noninvasive NMR and MRI detection of fungal decay at early stages as well as the related structural changes.

中文翻译：

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使用核磁共振和核磁共振表征由 Coniophora puteana 引起的苏格兰松的腐烂过程

摘要 木材腐烂是一个具有重要经济意义的过程，因为它是建筑物中木材变质的主要原因之一。在这项研究中，由地窖真菌（Coniophora puteana）引起的苏格兰松（Pinus sylvestris）样品的腐烂过程采用核磁共振（NMR）光谱和磁共振成像（MRI）方法进行跟踪。总共有 30 块木材样品暴露于真菌中 10 周。根据干重的减少，将样品分为三类：分解（质量减少 50-70%）、轻微分解（10-50%）和未分解（<10%）。MRI 可以根据真菌带来的自由水信号来识别木材样品中真菌的活跃区域，这些信号来源于木材碳水化合物的分解。MRI 意味着游离水不仅是由腐烂过程产生的，而且真菌菌丝也会将大量的水输送到样品中。二维 1H T1-T2 弛豫相关 NMR 测量提供了有关由于真菌分解引起的木材微观结构变化的详细信息。总体而言，这项研究为在早期阶段进行无创 NMR 和 MRI 检测真菌腐烂以及相关结构变化铺平了道路。