Swabs have been a cornerstone of diagnostic and research sampling for decades. They are simple, inexpensive, and familiar… All valid reasons and why they remain so prominent and used widely across clinical microbiology, diagnostics, and environmental testing. And yet, beneath that apparent simplicity, lies a growing set of challenges that limit their reliability and suitability in modern diagnostic workflows. As testing technology advances testing more sophisticated analyses, and as testing moves away from professional use into the home as part of a self-collection testing routine, the swab’s design constraints become increasingly evident. It’s not just old school microbiological testing that’s being done in today's diagnostics yet we are relying on old-school tools.

1. Inconsistent sample recovery. Swabs rely on mechanical contact to collect biological material. The amount of sample recovered depends on how firmly the user applies the swab, how long it remains in contact, and the viscosity of the material being sampled. Even small differences in pressure or dwell time produce variation in sample yield. Studies routinely show wide intra- and inter-user variability, leading to poor reproducibility between collections which is limitating when quantitative results are needed.

2. Sample entrapment and loss during release. All swab materials whether cotton, rayon, or flocked fibre retain a portion of the sample even after immersion in transport medium. That absorbed fraction can contain the very analytes a downstream test seeks to detect. This incomplete elution effectively dilutes or biases the sample, especially problematic for low-copy targets. The result is often reduced sensitivity or even false negatives.

3. Dependence on external transport media. Traditional swabs are inert collection tools. To preserve the sample and prevent degradation, they must be placed into a suitable transport medium immediately after use. The quality and composition of that medium, its buffering capacity, antimicrobial content, and compatibility with downstream assays, directly influence the integrity of the sample. Mismatch between collection and assay systems introduces error and complexity, particularly in decentralised or low-resource settings where cold-chain transport can’t be guaranteed.

4. Risk of sample degradation and contamination. Once collected, the clock starts ticking. RNA and other fragile analytes begin degrading within minutes if not properly stabilised. Swab systems often depend on user compliance: correct immersion depth, capping, mixing, and in some cases refrigeration. Each step is a potential point of failure.

5. Workflow inefficiency and cost amplification. While swabs themselves are inexpensive, the surrounding workflow is not. Every swab sample requires manual handling, additional reagents for elution or extraction, and extra plasticware for transfer. The accumulation of small inefficiencies across thousands of samples inflates cost, increases waste, and slows turnaround times. In molecular testing, the need to extract nucleic acids adds another bottleneck that can delay results by hours or even days.

6. Misalignment with testing paradigms. Swab-based systems were designed in an era dominated by culture-based microbiology. Today’s test however, demand chemical compatibility and contamination-free inputs. Materials used in swabs and transport media can inhibit amplification reactions, while residual detergents or preservatives may interfere with sensitive enzymatic processes. The legacy design of the swab simply does not align with the precision, speed, and chemical requirements of many modern diagnostics but are still shoehorned into the workflow.

7. Limited adaptability to new sample types. Finally, swabs are inherently constrained by geometry and user technique. They are well-suited for surface or mucosal sampling but poorly suited for fluids like saliva, urine, or blood, the very sample types that are becoming central to non-invasive and self-collected testing. The diagnostic landscape is moving rapidly forward toward universal, chemistry-integrated solutions that can handle diverse sample types in a single workflow.

The traditional swab by its very design cannot evolve to meet that demand.

A system overdue for reinvention

Swabs have served their purpose for decades, but their weaknesses are structural, not procedural. Inconsistent recovery, dependence on external lysis and transport media, and incompatibility with molecular testing workflows all point to the same conclusion: the industry needs a new pre-analytical paradigm. One where sample collection, preservation, and test readiness are built into a single, standardised process.

ReadyGo GoCollect™ products are designed for today’s sophisticated diagnostics, not yesterday’s rudimentary culture based testing. Swap the swab, not the workflow.