doi:10.3390/coatings8120415engSilva Castro, IosodyCasado Sanz, MilagrosAlonso Cortés, Agustín L.Martín-Ramos, PabloMartín Gil, JesúsAcuña Rello, LuisChitosan-based coatings to prevent the decay of Populus spp. wood caused by Trametes versicolorART-2018-108842Chitosan and chitosan oligomers are receiving increasing attention due to their antimicrobial properties. In the present study, they were assayed as a preventive treatment against white-rot decay of Populus wood (very important in economic and environmental terms), caused by Trametes versicolor fungus. Their capacity to incorporate different chemical species into the polymer structure with a view to improving their anti-fungal activity was also assessed by mixing oligo-chitosan with propolis and silver nanoparticles. The minimum inhibitory concentration of medium-molecular weight chitosan (MMWC), chitosan oligomers (CO), propolis (P), nanosilver (nAg), and their binary and ternary composites against T. versicolor was determined in vitro. Although all products exhibited anti-fungal properties, composites showed an enhanced effect as compared to the individual products: 100% mycelial growth inhibition was attained for concentrations of 2.0 and 0.2 mg·mL−1 for the CO-P binary mixture, respectively; and 2 µg·mL−1 for nAg in the ternary mixture. Subsequently, MMWC, CO, CO-P and CO-P-nAg composites were tested on poplar wood blocks as surface protectors. Wood decay caused by the fungus was monitored by microscopy and vibrational spectroscopy, evidencing the limitations of the CO-based coatings in comparison with MMWC, which has a higher viscosity and better adhesion properties. The usage of MMWC holds promise for poplar wood protection, with potential industrial applications.2018http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/7594710.3390/coatings8120415http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/75947oai:zaguan.unizar.es:75947COATINGS 8, 12 (2018), 415 [15 pp.]byhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess