COPAN announced this week that it has received the Chinese patent for its invention of flocked swabs, FLOQSwabs™, for collection and transfer of biological samples. The Chinese flocked swabs patent is the latest addition to a growing number of patents held by COPAN across the world for the use of flocked swabs for collection and transfer of biological samples, including a European patent that covers several countries (N°1608268), an Australian patent (N°2004226798), a Canadian patent (N°2515205), a Japanese patent (2007-523663) and New Zealand patent (N°541560).

Innovative FLOQSwabs^TM comprises of a solid molded plastic applicator shaft with a tip that can vary in size and shape to serve different anatomical needs. The tip of the applicator is coated with short Nylon^® fibers that are arranged in a perpendicular fashion. This perpendicular arrangement results from a process called flocking, where the fibers are sprayed onto the tip of the swab, while it is held in an electrostatic field. COPAN’s application of flocking technology has revolutionized the way biological swab samples are perceived. Now demonstrated in many scientific studies, COPAN FLOQSwabs^TM absorbs a greater volume of sample, and more importantly, release the entire sample into different assay platforms.

“The Chinese patent for the invention of flocked swabs for collection and transfer of biological samples is an important milestone for COPAN as it reinforces its position as a true inventor in the area of pre-analytics. Protecting intellectual property is critical in fostering innovation, and this latest patent reflects the growing trend worldwide to protect COPAN’s flocked swabs,” concludes Daniele Triva, COPAN Group’s General Manager.

About COPAN

With a reputation for innovation in preanalytics, COPAN is the leading manufacturer of collection and transport systems in the world. COPAN offers a complete range of microbial sampling products used for traditional culture analysis and molecular diagnostic assays. For more information, visit www.copanusa.com