Theses and Dissertations Collection

Wood is an environmentally friendly material that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and is relatively low in acquisition cost compared to other building materials. However, one of the challenges of using wood materials is that it is susceptible to wood-degrading fungi, bacteria, and termites, under humid conditions. Epsilon-Poly-L-lysine (EPL) is a secondary metabolite biosynthesized by specific fungi through fermentation. It has been successfully utilized as a natural antimicrobial agent for food preservation. The objective of this study is to test the feasibility of EPL for wood protection. Four common wood-decaying fungi, two wood species, and different treatments were used to test antifungal resistance. Two experiments were conducted in this study: in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of EPL against wood-decaying fungi. The results of the in vitro antifungal experiment showed that EPL treatment affected fungal hyphae from a smooth structure to a twisted structure and the minimal inhibition concentration of EPL for fungal species ranges from 3 to 5 mg/ml. The results of the wood protection experiment showed that applying 1% of EPL in wood cubes significantly reduced the mass losses in the decay test and also increased the thermal stability of the wood samples. These results indicate a novel approach to wood protection by EPL.