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. 1979 Sep;38(3):466–470. doi: 10.1128/aem.38.3.466-470.1979

Wipe-rinse technique for quantitating microbial contamination on large surfaces.

L E Kirschner, J R Puleo
PMCID: PMC243518  PMID: 394682

Abstract

The evaluation of an improved wipe-rinse technique for the bioassay of large areas was undertaken due to inherent inadequacies in the cotton swab-rinse technique to which assay of spacecraft is currently restricted. Four types of contamination control cloths were initially tested. A polyester-bonded cloth (PBC) was selected for further evaluation because of its superior efficiency and handling characteristics. Results from comparative tests with PBC and cotton swabs on simulated spacecraft surfaces indicated a significantly higher recovery efficiency for the PBC than for the cotton (90.4 versus 75.2%). Of the sampling areas sites studied, PBC was found to be most effective on surface areas not exceeding 0.74 m2 (8.0 feet 2).

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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