We all know that the material of medical swabs has always been a note of concern, after all, medical swabs are in direct contact with the skin, contact with the skin can first dip in alcohol disinfection, it is nothing, but those in direct contact with the parts of the organ? For example, we are most familiar with the pharyngeal swabs during the epidemic.

We know that the pharyngeal swab is in direct contact with the sampling site, and the material of its sampling head is closely related to the subsequent detection. The sampling swab head should be made of PE synthetic fibers or artificial fibers, not calcium alginate sponge or wooden stick swabs (including bamboo swabs), and the swab head should not be made of cotton products, because the fibers of cotton are more adsorbent to proteins and not easily eluted to the subsequent preservation solution; and wooden sticks or bamboo swabs containing calcium alginate and wooden components will also adsorb proteins after breaking and soaking in the preservation solution, and even have an inhibitory effect on the subsequent PCR reaction. Synthetic fibers such as PE fiber, polyester fiber and polypropylene fiber are recommended for the manufacture of swab heads. Natural fibers such as cotton are not recommended, nor are fibers of nylon, as nylon-like fibers (similar to toothbrush tips) do not absorb water well, which can lead to insufficient sampling and affect the initial detection rate.

Pharyngeal swab material banned calcium alginate sponge! Pharyngeal swab material banned calcium alginate sponges! Calcium alginate sponges are prohibited for pharyngeal swab materials!

The material used to make the swab handle cannot have calcium alginate additives added; the use of wooden sticks or bamboo sticks is not recommended. In short, the sampling swab should ensure the sampling volume and release volume, and the selected material must not have substances that affect subsequent testing.

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