How much do you know about flocking swabs?

Why use flocked swabs?


The flocking swab is made of nylon fiber flocking technology, and the front end is coated with nylon short fibers fixed in a vertical manner, so that there is no absorption hole in the entire sampling area of ​​the sampling swab, and the sampling sample will not be dispersed in the retained fibers, which is beneficial to Faster and more efficient elution. Traditional cotton swabs cannot completely collect and elute samples, while flocked swabs can elute 95% of samples. Therefore, the use of flocked swabs has great advantages for various sample collection applications.


What is a flocked swab?


The flocking swab is to deposit nylon fibers on the surface of the medical ABS rod in a certain direction through the electrostatic field to form a brush layer, and the layers are sufficiently parallel and perpendicular to the surface of the inner rod, through this The brush head is used for DNA collection, which can be used for the sampling of natural human cavities such as the mouth, nasopharynx, etc., and can also be used for laboratory testing.


The operation method of flocking swab:


Today we take the sampling method of oropharyngeal swabs as an example,


①. First, ask the patient to sit down, then ask the patient to tilt their head back, open their mouth wide, and make an 'ah~' sound;


②. The sampler fixes the patient's tongue with a tongue depressor, and uses a flocked swab to cross the base of the tongue to the posterior pharyngeal wall, tonsillar recess, and lateral wall;


3. Repeatedly wipe 3 to 5 times to collect mucosal cells;


④. Slowly take the swab out of the mouth, put it vertically into the sampling tube, break the tail of the swab, and tighten the sampling tube to avoid leakage


⑤ Send it to the laboratory for testing as soon as possible.


Considerations in flocking swab sampling:


①. The swab should be placed vertically in the sampling tube, and do not wipe the mouth of the bottle to avoid contamination. When put in the transfer box, it should be disposed of to avoid leakage


②, it is best to send it or send it to the laboratory for testing on the day of sampling


3. Before submitting for inspection, it is necessary to verify that the specimen is consistent with the inspection document. The appearance of the sampling tube must clearly write the patient's name and basic information. The specimen without basic information cannot be tested;


④. The specimens submitted for inspection must submit (or submit the electronic version in advance) the screening information form, the submission form and other materials. The submitted materials should ensure that they are not contaminated and should not be placed with the specimens to be tested.


What are the advantages of flocking swabs?


①、Sampling is comfortable and easy to use


Flocking swabs are now basically using 'spray-on technology', which vertically attaches millions of nylon fibers to the head of the medical ABS swab shaft through the flocking process of electrostatic charge. The vertical nylon fibers act like a soft brush, which allows the user to feel free from foreign objects during sampling. At the same time, the flocking swabs used in different parts have different breaking points, and the rods use different thicknesses to make the softness different.


For example, the nasal swab has a thinner and softer upper end of the rod, and a longer breaking point, which fully conforms to the ergonomic design.


②, the flocking swab samples release a larger amount


Capillary action between nylon fiber bundles facilitates strong hydraulic absorption of liquid samples. The sample remains on the surface, making elution easier. Compared with the traditional wound cotton swab, the collection and release volume is much larger. Experimental studies have shown that the collection and release volume of the flocking swab can reach 95% of the sample, while the cotton swab is only about 20%. Because most of the samples collected by the cotton swab are easily intercepted in the fiber matrix layer of the head when they are released, it is not easy to release or release a small amount.


③. Flocking swabs are biocompatible and ideal for PCR work


To limit damage to the sample and improve detection accuracy, the swabs are made of completely inert material, while the flocked swabs are PCR compatible and free of RNase and DNase.