Micro-Bioassay of Pentachlorophenol Within Wood Cell Walls

The effects of sub-lethal quantities of pentachlorophenol (PCP) on decay fungal activity in wood were explored for their ability to serve as indicators of PCP distribution in cell walls. Weight-loss determinations, as well as light-and electron-microscopical data, suggested that PCP action followed a “threshold” pattern at the level of the individual cell wall; with increasing PCP concentration, no effect on the decay pattern was observed until concentration was sufficient to prevent cell-wall attack. Further evidence was obtained that PCP is present in the cell walls following LPG treatment. Furthermore, the cell-wall PCP alone fully protected wood from decay in a soil-block tests. The lack of any unusual, localized cell-wall attack may be attributed to either a uniform distribution of PCP in cell walls, or to the possibility that variation in PCP concentration did not cause corresponding variation in the pattern of decay at the cell-wall level.

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