ABUNDANCE OF FUNGAL CONTAMINATION IN
LABORATORIES
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
Presence of any unwanted substances and particles which destroy the products quality is called contamination
Laboratories is a place that provides a platform for the students and researchers. Microbial contamination is one of a
biggest worldwide obstacle for researchers working with microbial cultures Contamination of cell culture is defined as
some element in the culture system that is undesirable because of its possible adverse effects on either the system or
its use. In overall, the reason for contaminants are mostly happened through avoidable procedural errors and
misguide techniques. Microbes are widely distributed in the environment without restriction and they are involved in
different places even inside a laboratory.
It may lose laboratory valuable strains. False - positive cultures are reports of microbiological laboratory came from
due to common and unusual laboratory contaminants. High microbial contaminate concentration is happened in a
microbial lab due to lack of proper management. In causing contamination, the fungi are the most prevalent as fungus
is present everywhere like food, water, plants and animals etc. fungi can be unicellular and multicellular like yeast and
mold. The fungus has a branched like filaments called hyphae which collectively make a network called mycelium. At the
tip of hyphae in which fruiting bodies are present which have spores in it. The fungus produces two types of spore’s
conidiophores which are asexual spores and Sporangiospores which are sexual spores. In addition, the several species
of fungi such as aspergillus and Penicillium are responsible for causing laboratory contamination.
Fungal contamination in labs causing serious infections and as well as it gives the negative results by contamination.
The zone of inhibition was measured in millimeters
(mm).
Contamination is a very serious problem nowadays; it
can be caused by microorganism, chemicals and
insects. It effects the work places such as laboratories
in which the contamination is serious problem which
will leads to serious consequences. The most common
biological encountered contaminates are bacteria,
moulds, yeasts, viruses and mycoplasma. Microbial
contamination is one of a biggest worldwide obstacle
for researchers working with microbial cultures.
Efforts has been made to decrease the contamination
in laboratories.
Isolates from Microbiology
Laboratory
Sample site
Type of colony
Color of colony
Number of colony
Laminar
Incubator
Single
Single
Black
Black
10
3
Fridge
Single
Black
1
Air
Triple
Surface
Single
Black, white and 12
Green
Black
16
Cabinet
Double
Pink and Green
3
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A total of 15 isolates were obtained and identified from different
laboratories. Results showed that fungal contamination is high in
microbiology laboratory. This might be attributed to the fact that more
people enter this laboratory. There are many reports on fungi isolated from
indoor environments. Fungi are able to grow on almost all natural and
synthetic materials, especially if they are hygroscopic or wet.
In the next step of our study was the indication of detergents which can be most
effective on laboratories containing fungi. Detergents such as Tazz, Bleach, Phenyl
and Panda were used. Antifungal tests were carried out by disk diffusion method and
evaluated by measuring the zone of inhibition against the tested isolate around each
detergent dilution. The inhibitory effect of detergents may attribute to the toxic effect
of some ingredients that elongate the fungal lag phase, inhibit normal cell elongation
and spore germination.
Isolates from Tissue Culture
Laboratory
:
Sample site
Type of colony Colour of
colony
Number of
colony
Laminar
Incubator
0
0
-
0
0
Fridge
Air
0
Double
Black and
White
0
8
Surface
Single
Black
5
Current study in correspondence to the previous
research conducted by number of scientists showed that
detergents have proven to be effective against wide
variety of fungi due to their antifungal activity. Thompson
1989; Mishra and Dubey 1994; Cox et al. 1998; O¨ zcan
1998; Cosentino et al. 1999; Aligiannis et al. 2001; Elgayyar
et al. 2001, Lachowicz et al. 1998; Wan et al. 1998; Canillac
and Mourey 2001). Typically, fungi made up two-thirds of
all of airborne, living micro-organisms (Saglaniet al.,
(2005). Miller et al. (2007) had isolated Cladosporium,
Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria as the most
common fungi in biosafety cabinets.
CONCLUSION
Contamination is a very serious problem nowadays; it can be caused
by microorganism, chemicals and insects. It effects the work places
such as laboratories in which the contamination is serious problem
which will leads to serious consequences. The most common
biological encountered contaminates are bacteria, moulds, yeasts,
viruses and mycoplasma. Microbial contamination is one of a biggest
worldwide obstacle for researchers working with microbial cultures.
Efforts has been made to decrease the contamination in laboratories.
The present study reported that laboratory equipment and
environment act as the potential sources of fungal contamination.
The highest concentration of fungal contamination was observed in
microbiology laboratory. Cleansing products used in all three labs are
efficient. Quick fixes, such as application of bleach solutions, only
temporarily remove surface growth. Fungi will grow back in one to
two weeks if excessive moisture and water persist. The dead fungal
spores may still contain allergens and toxins. However, the effects of
detergents i.e. Tazz, Panda, Bleach and Phenyl were assessed for their
role to decrease the contamination. The antifungal activity of
detergents was determined against fungal isolates. Irani dish washer
such as Tazz and panda has shown remarkable antifungal activity
against the fungi as compare to Bleach and Phenyl. It is concluded
experimentally that Tazz and Panda was more effective than Bleach
and Phenyl to use as a detergent in order to decrease the
contamination.