title: Improved recovery of Bacillus spores from nonporous surfaces with cotton swabs over foam, nylon, or polyester, and the role of hydrophilicity of cotton in governing the recovery efficiency.
abstract: Evaluating different swabbing materials for spore recovery efficiency (RE) from steel surfaces, we recorded the maximum RE (71%) of 10(7) Bacillus subtilis spores with Tulips cotton buds, followed by Johnson's cotton buds and standard Hi-Media cotton, polyester, nylon, and foam (23%) swabs. Among cotton swabs, instant water-absorbing capacity or the hydrophilicity index appeared to be the major indicator of RE, as determined by testing three more brands. Tulips swabs worked efficiently across diverse nonporous surfaces and on different Bacillus spp., registering 65 to 77% RE.
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessarghatta Lake, Bangalore, India. pioust@gmail.com
authors.forename: Pious
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Mohammed M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mujawar
authors.forename: Reshmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Upreti
authors.forename: Aparna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sekhar
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D003368:Gossypium; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D009757:Nylons; D011091:Polyesters; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D013170:Spores / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013232:Steel
chemical_list: D009757:Nylons; D011091:Polyesters; D013232:Steel