1. Why choose a dedicated virus sampling tube to collect, transport and store samples?
The quality of the collected samples is directly related to the subsequent testing. If the collection tools and storage solution are not used properly, the viral load of the collected samples will not be high and will gradually decompose with the changes in the microenvironment of the living organism, making it easy to cause false test results difficult to diagnose.
The process of decomposition of virus particles after sampling
So a special virus sampling tube is used to ensure the effectiveness of sampling and reduce false negatives!
2. A good virus sampling tube must have the following conditions
①In terms of sample validity
Must maintain the activity of the pathogen infection factor.
meet the time from sample collection to laboratory testing.
Yes It is necessary to limit or prevent the proliferation of commensal microorganisms to ensure the reliability of the diagnostic test.
maintaining the integrity of viral antigens and nucleic acids
Maintain viral activity at ambient conditions.
②Safety
Virus sampling tubes are filled with infectious substances, some of which are even highly pathogenic and sexy. Therefore, the requirements for packaging containers are very strict and must also meet safety requirements: [ h] Transport safety: to ensure that leakage of samples during transport does not occur.
Preservation safety: to ensure that samples do not leak during preservation.
Sampling tube selection considerations
Virus Preservation Solution
There are two main types of virus preservation fluids widely used in virus sampling tubes. One is a modified virus maintenance preservation solution based on delivery media and the other is for nucleic acid extraction. Improved lysate preservation solution. This is because the collected samples may be involved in a variety of assays at a subsequent time, not only for nucleic acid extraction testing of viruses, but also for virus culture, isolation and antigen detection.
It is recommended to choose virus maintenance solution type preservation solution. It is possible to maintain the originality of the sample to a large extent, making it available for various assays. However, it is important to note that whatever preservation solution sampling tubes are chosen, they should be strictly inactivated prior to testing.
Sampling Tubes for Preservative Encapsulation
Polyethylene propylene polymer (Polyallomer) plastic and some specially treated polypropylene (PP) and polycarbonate (PC) plastic containers are recommended and need to be well gas-tight, resistant to high and low temperatures, and suitable for a variety of inactivation methods.
Sampling swabs
Swab heads should be flocked with synthetic fibers rather than cotton or calcium alginate sponges.
Hollow polystyrene (PS) extruded tubing or polypropylene (PP) injected indentation tubing is recommended for the swab handle; do not use wooden or bamboo sticks. This is because wooden or bamboo sticks containing calcium alginate and wood components that are damaged and soaked in the preservation solution can adsorb proteins and even interfere with subsequent assays. Cotton fibers are strongly adsorbed to proteins and are not easily washed off.
The length of the swab should not be too short and the location of the break should not be too close to the head of the swab to avoid contamination of the patient's body fluid during the operation.
The location of the rupture point should be reasonable to avoid the risk of contamination caused by liquid splashing into the tube when the sampling tube is ruptured.
