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Surface microbial dynamics and residual diversity in patient rooms with wooden and painted walls
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Wood Science and Engineering. Department of Population Genetics, Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv 04123, Ukraine.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3768-5763
Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Agrobiology, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv 03041, Ukraine.
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Wood Science and Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7711-9267
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2026 (English)In: Scientific Reports, E-ISSN 2045-2322, Vol. 16, no 1, article id 24451Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Wood is a biobased material that supports long-term carbon storage; however, its suitability for use in healthcare facility interiors remains insufficiently studied. This study assessed surface microbial dynamics and residual diversity in patient rooms with conventional painted wall materials and with designer wooden wall panels. Surface microbial dynamics were evaluated using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurements and the swab method with colony-forming unit (CFU) counting. Bacterial and fungal cultures from each patient room were analysed by Sanger sequencing. No significant differences in ATP levels or microbial quantities were observed between rooms. In addition, no correlation was observed between ATP levels and CFU counts within each patient room due to methodological differences. In total, 37 microbial species (24 bacterial and 13 fungal) from 23 genera, all belonging to risk groups 1 and 2, were identified. Significant differences in microbial biodiversity were observed among the patient rooms studied. Fewer unique taxa were detected in the room with wooden walls. This study suggests that the installation of wooden wall panels was not associated with increased surface microbial contamination or altered microbial dynamics under the conditions investigated. The findings support the careful consideration of wood as a finishing material in hospital facilities, while highlighting the need for further replicated studies to confirm these observations.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2026. Vol. 16, no 1, article id 24451
Keywords [en]
Hospital hygiene, Wall material, Microbial dynamics, ATP measurement, Microbial biodiversity
National Category
Microbiology Building Technologies Microbiology in the Medical Area
Research subject
Wood Science and Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-119239DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-64982-yPubMedID: 42562851Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105046547765OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-119239DiVA, id: diva2:2091447
Funder
Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, 20203193The Kempe FoundationsSwedish Research Council Formas, 2023-01065Carl Tryggers foundation , CTS 23:2906
Note

Funder: Swedish Wood;

Fulltext license: CC BY

Available from: 2026-08-12 Created: 2026-08-12 Last updated: 2026-08-12Bibliographically approved

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