With the development of regular nucleic acid testing, we all have a certain understanding of the swabs used in nucleic acid testing, and we are worried about the quality and safety of the swabs, so we definitely want to know what material the swabs used in nucleic acid testing are made of. Are there any side effects?
What is the material of the swab used for nucleic acid testing?
Nucleic acid sampling swabs, nasal swabs, which are commonly known to the public as cotton swabs, should not be called "cotton swabs" but "sampling swabs", mainly consisting of nylon short fiber lint head and medical grade ABS plastic rod. Currently, the vast majority of nucleic acid and antigen sampling swabs are not tipped with the skim cotton of everyday cotton swabs, but with nylon fiber flocked swabs. This is not to say, however, that the fibers of the sampling swab break easily. The fine nylon fibers are secured to the tip of the sampling swab for better sample collection.
The sampling swab is flocked using a spray and electrostatic charge, so that millions of nylon microfibers are attached vertically and evenly to the end of the shank.
A closer look reveals that the front end of the sampling swab is coated with short nylon fibers that are fixed in a vertical manner, leaving the entire collection area of the swab free of absorption holes. In this way, the collected sample is not dispersed and retained in the fibers, facilitating faster and more efficient elution. Relevant data show that flocked swabs can elute more than 85% of the sample collected; traditional cotton swabs, especially those made with skimmed cotton, do not fully collect and elute samples.
The flocking process also does not produce toxic substances, and the flocking method allows nylon fiber bundles to form capillary action, which facilitates the absorption of liquid samples like strong hydraulic pressure. Compared with traditional wound fiber swabs, flocked swabs can keep microbial samples on the surface of the fibers, quickly eluting >95% of the original sample and easily improving the sensitivity of the test.
Are there any side effects to the swab swabs used when doing nucleic acid testing?
Most sampling swabs are currently nylon fiber flocked swabs, sampling swabs are produced for sampling and do not contain any soaking reagents per se, nor do they need to contain reagents; at the same time, sampling swabs are medical devices, and the basic requirement for qualified products is that they are non-toxic and non-hazardous.
According to national regulations, sampling swabs, also known as "single-use samplers", belongs to the medical device products, not only production for the record, and there are strict production environment requirements and quality supervision standards, qualified products must be non-toxic and harmless. At the same time, the sampling swab belongs to the medical field of common products, can be sampled on different parts, but also applied in different testing behavior, not specifically for nucleic acid detection or antigen detection production, so the swab will not contain other reagents.
Whether from the material or production, processing, inspection process, sampling swabs have strict standards to ensure that they are non-toxic and harmless, can be used.
Sampling swabs do not need to be "sterile"
There are rumors that the sampling swabs currently in use are not marked "sterile", so it is not safe. This is another misunderstanding of the medical device "sterile" "non-sterile".
This professional explanation to: single-use samplers can currently apply for registration as Class II medical devices, but also as a class of medical devices (Class III medical devices for the highest level) in the regulatory department for the record. If as a Class II medical device, the factory must meet the sterility requirements, while a class of medical devices do not have the relevant requirements, can be "non-sterile" "not sterile" state listed.
In the field of medical devices, the concept of "sterile" and "non-sterile" is not the same as the usual understanding. Among them, "sterile" refers to the state of no surviving microorganisms. The medical device labeled "sterile" is sterilized, and the theoretical probability of the existence of viable microorganisms should not exceed 10 to the negative sixth power, so only in the particularly demanding use environment, "sterile" medical devices are required. The "non-sterile" "unsterile" medical devices can not be as strict as the "sterile" medical devices almost "a germ-free ", but also not to hide dirt. All medical devices must meet certain health requirements to qualify for the market. The qualified products on the market can be used and sampled with confidence.
Why do you feel uncomfortable in the throat or nose after sampling?
Some users have raised the suspicion that "sampling swabs have side effects" because they feel uncomfortable in the throat and nose after each sampling. This is also a misunderstanding of sampling swabs.
