What do you know about flocked sampling swabs?
Flocked swab definition
Flocked swabs use spray-dense nylon fiber technology; collects and releases three times the amount of sample than traditional swabs. The viability of the cell sample is guaranteed and there are no residual fatty acids that can affect the test results.
Why use flocked swabs?
COVID-19 is a variant coronavirus of the novel coronavirus, which can cause pneumonia in humans after infection. It is an acute respiratory infection, highly contagious and susceptible to the general population. It easily replicates in the human upper respiratory tract. Normally, the new coronavirus nucleic acid is rapidly detectable within 96 hours after infection. Testers can find the virus in the human upper respiratory tract. Experiments have shown that flocked swabs can rapidly elute >95% of the original sample, easily improving detection sensitivity.
Sampling flocked swabs for applications.
The human upper respiratory tract includes the nasal cavity, pharynx and larynx. This means that if a person is infected with COVID-19, he can extract viral nucleic acid from the nasal cavity, pharynx and larynx within 96 hours. So when we perform rapid nucleic acid testing for new crowns, we usually sample these locations. We differentiate the swabs by the different sampling locations. For nasal sampling, we become nasopharyngeal flocking swab; for oral sampling, we become oropharyngeal flocking swab.
Why do you use a sampling swab instead of a regular swab for nucleic acid?
A sampling swab looks similar to an ordinary "cotton swab", but the tip is actually a flocked swab. The material is polyester or nylon fiber, which is similar to the bristles of a toothbrush. Flocked swabs are made with nylon fiber flocking technology, and the front end is coated with short nylon fibers that are fixed in a vertical manner, so that there are no absorption holes in the collection area of the entire collection swab. This way, the collected sample is not dispersed and retained in the fibers, facilitating faster and more efficient sample elution.
What does a sampling swab for nucleic acid consist of?
A nucleic acid swab consists of a nylon lint tip and a medical grade ABS plastic stem. The nylon staple fibers act like a soft brush to improve the collection of cellular material; the capillary movement between the fibers creates strong hydraulic pressure, thereby ingesting the liquid sample; and the sample sticks to the surface of the swab, making it easy to elute.
