Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

Environmental and Global Health

First Committee Member

Mark P. Buttner

Second Committee Member

Patricia Cruz

Third Committee Member

Steven Medley

Fourth Committee Member

Anne Weisman

Number of Pages

52

Abstract

Bioaerosols, defined as airborne particles of biological origin, include bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their byproducts. They are ubiquitous in both indoor and outdoor environments and can cause respiratory infections, allergic reactions, and toxin-mediated illnesses. Air sampling plays a vital role in bioaerosol monitoring by enabling the collection and analysis of airborne microorganisms to assess exposure risk and inform mitigation strategies. The objective of this study was to determine the relative collection efficiency of two air samplers, the MD8 Airscan, a filtration sampling method, and the SKC BioSampler, an impingement sampling method. Aerosolization tests were conducted in a controlled test chamber using known concentrations of three representative microorganisms: a Gram-positive bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus), a Gram-negative bacterium (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and a virus (bacteriophage MS2). Each organism was aerosolized using a Collison nebulizer, and air samples were collected using both samplers. Microbial concentrations were quantified using culture-based methods, including plate counts for bacteria and plaque assays for MS2 bacteriophage. Airborne concentrations were determined and the results were compared using Student’s paired t-test. Both samplers recovered culturable airborne Staphylococcus aureus, and although the SKC Biosampler produced slightly higher mean concentrations, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.17). For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the SKC Biosampler yielded significantly higher airborne concentrations than the MD8 Airscan (p = 0.04). For the MS2 bacteriophage, both samplers produced comparable airborne concentrations, and no statistically significant difference was observed (p = 0.32). Across sampling trials, the MD8 exhibited greater variability in measured concentrations. The results demonstrate that sampler performance may vary depending on microorganism characteristics, including structural differences, such as bacterial cell wall composition. The SKC BioSampler showed improved recovery and greater consistency for the Gram-negative bacterium tested, while both samplers performed similarly for the Gram-positive bacterium and the virus. This study provides a controlled comparison of two widely used bioaerosol samplers and contributes to improved selection of air sampling methods for specific microorganisms and public health monitoring applications.

Keywords

Aerosol science; Air quality monitoring; Environmental microbiology; Exposure assessment; Microbial air sampling; Public health surveillance

Disciplines

Environmental Public Health | Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health

File Format

PDF

File Size

460 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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