2007 Research Highlights-- USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory

You are receiving this message since your browser does not support JavaScript or you have JavaScripts disabled in your browser.The US Forest Service is conducting a Web survey, delivered via Javascript, to better understand our Web site visitors, what kind of information they're seeking, and how well we are currently satisfying their needs. If you are interested in further information, please contact the Webmaster at: webmaster@fs.fed.us.




	WELCOME:
	About Us
	Search FPL Resources
	Press Room
	FAQs
	Partnership Opportunities
	Research Programs
	Publications
	Painting & Finishing
	Announcements
	Other Resources
	Advanced Housing Research Center
	Coalition for Advanced Wood Structures
	Wood Transportation Structures
	Wood Anatomy & Identification
	State & Private Forestry Technology Marketing Unit
	FPL Employees Area


	Forest Products Laboratory One Gifford Pinchot Drive Madison, Wisconsin 53726 (608) 231-9200 Contact Us...

2006 Highlights

o	How Well Do Arsenic-Free Preservatives Inhibit Copper-Tolerant Fungi?
o	Caulking with Care
o	Combustion Properties of an Exotic Annual Grass
o	Creosote Movement from Treated Wood Immersed in Fresh Water
o	Durable Wood, Naturally--Termite Resistance
o	Essential Oils Inhibit Mold Spore Germination
o	Fire Resistance of Strucutral Composite Lumber Products
o	Bioprocessing for Ethanol Production and a Valuable Adhesive Coproduct
o	Fuel Treatment Evaluator
o	Fuel Treatment Market
o	Genome Sequencing
o	Wood Research from World War I to Iraq
o	Reusing Remediated Wood in Value-Added Products
o	Inspecting Historic Structures: Using the Web to Train Inspection Professionals
o	Productive Use of Thinnings in Dimension Lumber and Paper
o	Treatability of Underutilized Wood Species
o	Enhancing Wood-Plastic Composites by Crosslinking Polymers
o	Accessible and Affordable Playground and Path Surfacing Now Commerically Available
o	Dimensional Warping of Wood-Based Composites

2007 Research Highlights

Research Area:
Forest Service Strategic Goal 6: Conduct mission-related work in addition to that which supports the agency goals.
SPA: Resource Management and Use

Creation of anti-microbial characteristics on sol-gel treated wood substrates

Key Contact: Mandla Tshabalala, mtshabalala@fs.fed.us
RWU 4723 - Durability and Wood Protection Research Group at the Forest Products Laboratory

The effect of sol-gel-deposited thin films on mold growth and fungal colonization on wood surfaces was investigated. These thin films were shown to inhibit growth of mixed mold spores and decay fungi, Trametes versicolor and Gloeophyllum trabeum, on wood surfaces. Because such hybrid inorganic/organic thin films can have high barrier properties with respect to permeation rates of oxygen and water vapor, they could be useful as non-toxic anti-mold or anti-fungal treatments on wood.