Conservation of Monuments.

Many historical limestone and sandstone monuments in Bhopal are seriously threatened by bio-deterioration and are in need of investigation and conservation. Bio-deterioration processes result from complex interactions of surface-invading microbes (such as fungi) with the surface material. The present investigation focuses on the conservation of monuments by determining the antifungal effect of azoles against the fungal isolates isolated from the monuments of Bhopal: Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, Rhizopus arrhizus and Penicillium sp.We determined the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antimicrobial agents using the guidelines of National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (M38-A). To determine MICs, the inoculums of the above isolates were exposed to itraconazole, ketoconazole, fluconazole, griseofulvin and clotrimazole. We found that the order of in vitro activity of these antifungal agents against the fungal isolates is Itraconazole> Ketoconazole >Clotrimazole = Fluconazole = Griseofulvin. This result suggests that the use of Itraconazole and Ketoconazole should be a primary consideration in the conservation of monuments. Spraying or painting with these antifungal drugs could protect the monuments from fungal biofilm development.