New Swab Design Aids Sample Collection

Whether you are working in forensics, the clinical sector or maybe even as a diagnostic kit manufacturer, sample collection is critical - especially if the sample to be collected is extremely small.

Barloworld Scientific, manufacturers of the world famous Sterilin® brand, have used innovative nylon fibre technology to develop a new range of collection devices that will maximise performance during patient sampling.

With regular fibre tipped swabs, a large percentage of the sample collected remains entrapped in the fibre matrix of the tip. The new Sterilin® 'flocked' swab however has perpendicular nylon fibres that act like a soft brush, allowing improved collection and release of both cellular and liquid samples.

Tests show that the flocked swab releases up to 95% of the sample collected compared to 25% in a standard fibre tipped swab - especially important if the sample size is tiny.

To limit interference and improve consistency the swab is manufactured from completely inert components. This makes the flocked swabs ideal for scientists using PCR techniques as, the new flocked swabs are PCR compatible and certified RNAse and DNAse free.