Antifungal properties of lauric arginate (LAE) treated wood

This study investigated the efficacy of lauric arginate (LAE) as a potential preservative against wood deteriorating fungi. First, the antifungal properties of LAE against two brown rot fungi, Gloeophyllum trabeum (G.t.) and Rhodonia placenta (R.p.), and two white rot fungi, Trametes versicolor (T.v.) and Irpex lacteus (I.l.) were examined using malt-agar media as substrate. Then the biological resistance of LAE-treated wood specimens (10, 20, and 25 % LAE solutions) was tested following American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) E10 soil-block test procedures. The in vitro study showed LAE actively inhibited the growth of all the fungi tested compared to growth in control plates but there were no considerable changes observed in the morphology of fungi hyphae. Wood impregnated with LAE showed increased weight percent gain as a function of treatment concentration. Characterization of LAE-treated wood on a thermogravimetric analyzer showed LAE shifted the thermal degradation temperatures to lower stages but did not significantly improve the thermal stability of the treated specimen. LAE in wood significantly suppressed fungus growth, leading to decreased mass loss but it also leached out from wood specimens during fungi exposure.