Micromycetes as deterioration agents of polymeric materials

Long-term field investigations on fungal deterioration covering about 250 multi-componental materials of different chemical composition were carried out at the biological station at Juodkrante (Neringa, Lithuania) on the Curonian Spit. The materials were exposed under three conditions with or without the limitation of natural climatic factors. It was found that deterioration of polymeric materials depended greatly on their composition and surface properties, as well as on the exposure conditions and their duration. The most resistant materials to fungal growth were homogeneous films, and among the more susceptible substrates were materials containing additives. Materials which were exposed to the open air were damaged more than those kept in a cellar and in specially constructed shelters. The most frequently isolated micromycetes from the surfaces of deteriorated materials surface were Aureobasidium pullulans, Aspergillus niger, A. versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Paecilomyces sulphurellus, Trichoderma viride, Ulocladium atrum and some Penicillium spp.