Collection device and material
Inventors
Young, Terry • TEMPLET, Timothy • Dube, Paul • DIXON, Todd • Lewis, Armand F. • Kim, Yong K.
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-8334134-B2
Publication Date
2012-12-18
Expiration Date
Abstract
Swabs, and materials of the present disclosure, and methods of making same, include randomly arranged sea-island bicomponent fibers which have randomly splayed terminal ends.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a swab configured to collect and release a biological sample comprising a liquid. The swab includes a flock fiber tipped applicator, where the flocked fibers are sea-island bicomponent composite fibers and at least about 85% of the fibers comprise randomly splayed terminal ends of the islands of the bicomponent fibers along a length of about 50% or less from said ends.
The swab fibers include a first polyester sea material and a second polyester island material, where the first polyester and the second polyester materials have at least one different property selected from melting point or solubility. The bicomponent fibers are adhered to the applicator with an adhesive.
The sea-island bicomponent composite fiber structure is used to provide randomly splayed terminal ends, and the document describes comparative performance in water pickup showing increased uptake for split/randomly splayed fibers versus not split fibers. The device is described for intended biological specimen collection from human/orifice sites and integration into specimen kits.
Claims Coverage
The independent claim coverage presents one main inventive combination: a swab configured to collect and release a biological liquid sample, with a flock fiber tipped applicator using sea-island bicomponent composite fibers that present randomly splayed terminal island ends in at least a defined portion near the tips, and the fibers are adhered with an adhesive while the polyester sea and island materials differ in at least one property selected from melting point or solubility. Dependent claims further refine fiber morphology, solubility behavior, adhesive type, and formation sequence.
Biological-liquid swab with randomly splayed sea-island bicomponent flock fibers
A swab configured to collect and release a biological sample comprising a liquid, including a flock fiber tipped applicator where flocked fibers are sea-island bicomponent composite fibers, and where at least about 85% of the fibers comprise randomly splayed terminal ends of the islands along a length of about 50% or less from the ends.
Applicator adhesion of sea-island bicomponent flock fibers with an adhesive
Sea-island bicomponent composite fibers being adhered to the applicator with an adhesive.
First polyester sea and second polyester island with property differences
Sea-island bicomponent fibers comprising a first polyester sea material and a second polyester island material, where the first polyester and the second polyester materials have at least one different property selected from melting point or solubility.
Island parts per fiber range for bicomponent fibers
The swab includes bicomponent fibers having 10 to 3000 island parts per fiber.
Relative alkaline solubility between first and second polyester materials
A swab where the first polyester has greater solubility in an alkaline sodium hydroxide solution than the second polyester.
Heated alkaline condition defining solubility difference
The first polyester dissolves more readily than the second polyester when both are in an alkaline solution heated to about 170°F to about 190°F.
Adhesive type selected for adhering fibers to applicator
The swab includes an adhesive chosen from a photocurable acrylic adhesive or a polyurethane adhesive.
Method forming randomly splayed fiber ends after sea component removal
A method forms the swab by adhering bicomponent flocked fibers to an applicator, removing the sea component using a heated alkaline solvent, and then forming randomly splayed fibers by applying mechanical force to the fiber ends after the sea component is removed.
The inventive features center on the swab with sea-island bicomponent polyester flock fibers, randomly splayed terminal island ends, adhesive attachment to the applicator, and polyester sea/island property differences, with dependent refinements to fiber count, solubility behavior, adhesive class, and formation sequence.
Stated Advantages
Increased water pickup for split/randomly splayed fibers versus unsplit fibers.
Documented Applications
Biological specimen collection from human/orifice sites using the swab.
Integration into specimen kits for collecting biological samples comprising a liquid.
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