What is a Medical Swab
In the COVID-19 sampling, medical flocked swabs are the most commonly used testing method.
Application: oral mucosal cells, oral microorganisms, virus sampling and transportation, DNA/RNA collection, throat sampling, cervical sampling, nasopharyngeal sampling and other fields.
In addition, we can also use medical cotton swabs for the collection and transportation of DNA for paternity testing.
As well as the collection, preservation and transportation of flu specimens.
According to the material, medical swabs can be divided into cotton swabs, foam swabs, non-woven swabs, flocked swabs and other products. Among them, the market share of cotton swabs is higher, reaching 76%.
According to the application field, medical swabs include gynecological, cervical and vagina sampling swabs; oral, nose, and pharynx sampling swabs; laboratory test sampling swabs; virus and bacteria sampling; disposable sampling swabs; sterile cell sampling And other products.
However, due to the influence of new coronary pneumonia and the popularization of nucleic acid testing, the proportion of medical swabs used for specimen sampling is increasing.
With the continuous improvement of medical conditions in developing countries around the world, the application demand for medical swabs is on the rise.
In 2020, the global medical swab market will reach 400 million U.S. dollars, with an output of about 38.4 billion pieces.
Moreover, due to the development of the world economy, the price of medical cotton swabs has shown an upward trend.
Choose the right medical swab
Swabs are one of the most commonly used disposable devices in the medical industry. But how do you know which application to choose? We have put together a brief overview on how to choose the right medical swab for your specific needs.
Cotton swab
The tip of American pharmaceutical-grade spun cotton fiber has become the standard for applicators for all applications from basic patient care to crime scene investigation.
With strong water absorption capacity, softness, low cost and safety, the performance of the cotton swab is consistent and reliable.
However, it is generally not recommended to use cotton swabs for specimen collection.
why? The characteristics of this natural material prevent the sample from being effectively released, and the naturally occurring fatty acids in this material interfere with the processes used in microbiology and DNA extraction and have proven harmful to organisms.
Rayon cotton swab
Rayon is a synthetic fiber made from wood pulp.
Although classified as synthetic fiber, it is actually a natural material.
Unlike cotton, artificial fiber removes materials that may sample or react to samples for transportation and processing during the production process, so it is usually used to sample for diagnostic tests.
Polyester fiber swab
Swab head material adopts polyester filament winding.
Polyester fiber is used for microbial collection, rapid diagnosis and PCR detection.
The polyester scraper has a higher release rate, but its cost is higher than cotton swab and rayon swab.
Foam tip swab:
The swab made of medical polyurethane is a very good diagnostic material, especially suitable for cell sampling.
The number of holes on the surface is generally 100 PPI (holes per inch).
This material has good hydrophilicity and poor absorption of hydrophobic substances.
Used in occasions where resistance to chemical corrosion is required, and it is also used for DNA and microbial sampling.
Synthetic swabs (rayon and polyester) are used to collect bacterial culture specimens, rather than cotton swabs that may contain inhibitory or toxic substances.
Flocked swab:
First developed flocking technology for cosmetics and industrial production.
Because of the planting process and the use of multi-head bifurcated polyester fiber materials.
The flocked swab has a very high absorption and release rate, and it is also effective for molecular sampling and absorption.
Some institutions designate to conduct research on nucleic acid sampling and certain genome analyses.
At present, the development of swabs not only reflects the changes in the materials of sampling swabs, but new demands in the fields of nursing, testing, and scientific research have led to the multi-dimensional development of swabs.