Water-soluble aerosol collection medium for environmental bioaerosol collections

When polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is electrospun into a nanofiber mat, a water-soluble aerosol collection medium is created with high collection efficiencies that are hospitable to active viruses. This collection medium allows aerosolized biological targets to be analyzed through methods that include propagation and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This nanofibrous medium was shown to be biologically hospitable while in solution with no signs of PCR inhibition upon post-collection and no appreciable change in solvent viscosity or pH after dissolution. Because this medium dissolves completely in aqueous buffer, 100% of the collected sample is liberated from it, allowing the entire collected sample to be available for analysis. Increased particle extraction from a water-soluble collection medium increases the detection sensitivity of biological particles relative to water-insoluble media like glass or polymer. Since PVA bioaerosol collection media dissolve in small amounts of aqueous liquid without significantly increasing the viscosity of what they are dissolved in, they work well in automated microfluidic systems used to transport the collected sample to a point of analysis which may also be automated.Copyright © 2026 American Association for Aerosol Research