Attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy of white-rot decayed beech wood

Small blocks of beech wood were exposed to the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor for a period of 84 days to investigate chemical alteration in decayed wood by infrared spectroscopy. Decayed samples were analyzed at 2 week intervals by using attenuated total teflection (ATR) infrared spectroscopy as a rapid method. Analyses showed that chemical alteration in wood began after the second week of exposure. The appearance of new peaks indicated chemical modification of cell walls between days 28 and 70 of exposure to the fungus, and the disappearance of the peaks at day 84 indicates removal of the cell wall constituents. This investigation showed that ATR spectroscopy is a very applicable and rapid method for studying wood biodegradation.