Friday, January 29, 2016

Foldscope evaluation of suspected mold growth in records room



Suspected mold growth on drywall in a records storage area (photo - N. Carlson)

Close-up view of suspected mold growth (photo - N. Carlson)
Previous problems with leaks in this space caused suspected mold growth on the wall and pipe insulation in this records storage space.  3M Scotch Transparent Tease tape samples were taken from the surface.  The tape was placed on a microscope slide using clear fingernail polish as a mounting fluid.  Photos were taken with Foldscope microscope attached to a Samsung S-5 Cell phone.   Photos were cropped using Adobe Photoshop Elements 12. Click to enlarge photos.

Uncropped photo of Chaetomium spp. (N. Carlson
Cropped Foldscope image of Chaetomium spp. from wall (N. Carlson)

Cropped Foldscope image of Aspergillus spp. from wall (N. Carlson)
Suspected mold growth on pipe insulation in records storage area (photo - N. Carlson)
Cropped Foldscope image of Stachybotrys spp. (N. Carlson)