Graduation Date

Spring 5-9-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Programs

Medical Sciences Interdepartmental Area

First Advisor

Dr. Joshua Santarpia

Second Advisor

Dr. Eric Carnes

Third Advisor

Dr. Jocelyn Herstein

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Matthew Nonnenmann

Abstract

Environmental surveillance for pathogenic microorganisms requires sampling technologies capable of efficiently collecting biological particles from air and surfaces for downstream detection.  Current environmental sampling materials, such as fibrous aerosol filters and surface sampling swabs, are designed to capture particles effectively but often retain a portion of the collected material during extraction.  Incomplete recovery reduces the sensitivity of microbiological and molecular detection, particularly in situations where microbiological concentrations are low, such as in environmental monitoring and clearance sampling following biological contamination events.  This dissertation describes the development and evaluation of water-soluble nanofibrous sampling materials designed to improve microbial recovery while maintaining particle capture.  Two complementary sampling technologies were developed using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), forcespun fibrous swabs for environmental surface sampling and electrospun nanofiber filters for collecting bioaerosols.  Both technologies are shown to maintain structural integrity during collection but dissolve completely in aqueous solution during sample extraction, transferring captured microorganisms directly into the analytical sample.   Forcespun PVA fibrous swabs were developed as water-soluble materials for environmental surface sampling.  These swabs maintained structural integrity during sampling but dissolved rapidly following collection, releasing captured microorganisms directly into solution.  This dissolution-based recovery approach has the potential to reduce losses associated with incomplete mechanical extraction from conventional swab materials.  In parallel, Electrospun PVA nanofiber filters were fabricated and evaluated as dissolvable aerosol collectors for particles within size ranges relevant to airborne microorganisms.  Their filtration performance was compared to conventional gelatin filters across multiple particle size bins under controlled environmental conditions.  Our results demonstrate that electrospun PVA collectors exhibit aerosol collection efficiencies comparable to or greater than gelatin filters while maintaining structural stability and rapidly dissolve in aqueous buffer.  Because dissolved PVA produces solutions with viscosities similar to water, the resulting samples are compatible with automated liquid handling and microfluidic analytical systems.  Together, this work demonstrates that water-soluble nanofibrous PVA materials can function as effective environmental sampling substrates for both aerosol and surface monitoring that is compatible with automated analysis workflows, potentially improving environmental biosurveillance technologies designed to detect harmful microorganisms in both air and on surfaces.

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Available for download on Monday, October 26, 2026

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