- On flat surfaces, contact plates are used instead of swabs. Contact plates are usually made of glass and leave nothing behind. Any material gathered by a swab is then placed onto a contact plate afterward so there is no need to use swabs unless a sample is being gathered from an irregular surface.
- The swabs used in clean rooms are specially designed for that purpose. A clean room swab cannot have any sharp points and, more importantly cannot leave adhesives or lint behind. The adhesive which holds the fibrous material to the end of the swab and the fibrous material itself must remain attached to the swab; it must not come loose on the surface from which the sample is being obtained or the contact plate on which the sample is placed.
- Swabs should be sterile when entering the clean room from the manufacturer. Once inside the room, they are stored in a sterile liquid until they are needed.
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