Fungal pigments on paper: Raman and quantum chemistry studies of Alternaria Sp

Volkov, VV and Perry, CC ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1517-468X, 2021. Fungal pigments on paper: Raman and quantum chemistry studies of Alternaria Sp. Dyes and Pigments, 195: 109719. ISSN 0143-7208

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Abstract

To advance our understanding of the molecular biochemistry of fungi which impact cultural heritage in libraries, museums and archives we investigated the diagnostic capacity of Raman spectroscopy to identify the composition of colored chromophores of fungi on paper. In this study we explored the diagnostic capacity of resonant Raman to distinguish chromophores in fungal filaments stimulated to grow on paper under high humidity with a focus on characterizing chromophores of Alternaria group species. To facilitate molecular analysis, we conducted quantum chemistry calculations of representative metabolites having optical absorption in the ultraviolet-visible spectral range. Comparing theory and experiment we show that fonsecin, erythroglaucin and aurasperone type chromophores occur in mature hyphal filaments with β-carotene dominant in yeast depositions on paper surfaces. Resonant Raman of mature filaments suggests a further contribution of carotenes longer than β-carotene to the spectral signature. Using microscopic resolution, we distinguish rich sets of Raman signatures that we assign to lignin, flavoglaucin, riboflavin, cycloleucomelon(e) and asperyellone molecular components in the spatial regions where filaments initiate from yeast depositions. In such regions, where filament microstructures stimulate development of a mature three-dimensional scaffold, the diversity of Raman resonances confirms a rich biochemistry of the developing structures. The library of computed optical and spectroscopic responses of characteristic fungal chromophores and metabolites presented here is essential for understanding the effect of fungi on a wide range of objects made from paper including books, prints, drawings, watercolors, engravings and even sculptures as well as designing next generation materials based on fungal hyphal mats.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Dyes and Pigments
Creators: Volkov, V.V. and Perry, C.C.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: November 2021
Volume: 195
ISSN: 0143-7208
Identifiers:
Number
Type
10.1016/j.dyepig.2021.109719
DOI
1485136
Other
Divisions: Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by: Jeremy Silvester
Date Added: 03 Nov 2021 11:32
Last Modified: 12 Aug 2022 03:00
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/44591

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