ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2010
Validation of a nylon-flocked-swab protocol for efficient recovery of bacterial spores from smooth and rough surfaces.
Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed.
- Material matters: a framework for integrating surface properties into built environment microbiome research.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Review
- Pathogens on High-Touch Surfaces in an Arid Megacity: A Longitudinal Molecular Surveillance Study.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Negligible influence of limescale deposits on faucet aerators on measured microorganism loads.European journal of microbiology & immunology · 2025Article
- Modeling of recovery efficiency of sampling devices used in planetary protection bioburden estimation.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2023Article
- Article
- Using Filter Media and Soiled Bedding in Disposable Individually Ventilated Cages as a Refinement to Specific Pathogen-free Mouse Health Monitoring Programs.Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS · 2022Article
- Porous surfaces: stability and recovery of coronaviruses.Interface focus · 2022Review
- Understanding and utilizing textile-based electrostatic flocking for biomedical applications.Applied physics reviews · 2021Review
- Electrostatic Flocking of Insulative and Biodegradable Polymer Microfibers for Biomedical Applications.Advanced healthcare materials · 2021Article
- Host reproductive cycle influences the pouch microbiota of wild southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons).Animal microbiome · 2021Article
- Rapid Fabrication of Sterile Medical Nasopharyngeal Swabs by Stereolithography for Widespread Testing in a Pandemic.Advanced engineering materials · 2020Article
- Article
- European survey and evaluation of sampling methods recommended by the standard EN ISO 18593 for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes and Pseudomonas fluorescens on industrial surfaces.FEMS microbiology letters · 2020Article
- PCR inhibition in qPCR, dPCR and MPS-mechanisms and solutions.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2020Review
- Microbial biodiversity assessment of the European Space Agency's ExoMars 2016 mission.Microbiome · 2017Article
- Efficacy of a Sonicating Swab for Removal and Capture of Listeria monocytogenes in Biofilms on Stainless Steel.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2017Article
- Considerations for estimating microbial environmental data concentrations collected from a field setting.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2017Review
- FLOQSwab™: Optimisation of Procedures for the Recovery of Microbiological Samples from Surfaces.Italian journal of food safety · 2016Article
- Extraction of Aerosol-Deposited Yersinia pestis from Indoor Surfaces To Determine Bacterial Environmental Decay.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2016Article
- Utilizing Moist or Dry Swabs for the Sampling of Nasal MRSA Carriers? An In Vivo and In Vitro Study.PloS one · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In order to meet planetary-protection requirements, culturable bacterial spore loads are measured representatively for the total microbial contamination of spacecraft. However, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) cotton swab protocols for spore load determination have not changed for decades. To determine whether a more efficient alternative was available, a novel swab was evaluated for recovery of different Bacillus atrophaeus spore concentrations on stainless steel and other surfaces. Two protocols for the nylon-flocked swab (NFS) were validated and compared to the present NASA standard protocol. The results indicate that the novel swab protocols recover 3- to 4-fold more (45.4% and 49.0% recovery efficiency) B. atrophaeus spores than the NASA standard method (13.2%). Moreover, the nylon-flocked-swab protocols were superior in recovery efficiency for spores of seven different Bacillus species, including Bacillus anthracis Sterne (recovery efficiency, 20%). The recovery efficiencies for B. atrophaeus spores from different surfaces showed a variation from 5.9 to 62.0%, depending on the roughness of the surface analyzed. Direct inoculation of the swab resulted in a recovery rate of about 80%, consistent with the results of scanning electron micrographs that allowed detailed comparisons of the two swab types. The results of this investigation will significantly contribute to the cleanliness control of future life detection missions and will provide significant improvement in detection of B. anthracis contamination for law enforcement and security efforts.
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