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General product information only, not medical advice. Which swab to use and how to collect a specimen is set by the clinician and the receiving laboratory.
Short answer
An ESwab is Copan’s Liquid Amies Elution Swab Collection and Transport System: a flocked nylon swab packed with a tube holding 1 mL of liquid Amies transport medium. Per the manufacturer’s instructions, the specimen should reach the laboratory preferably within 2 hours, and be processed within 48 hours if delayed (24 hours for Neisseria gonorrhoeae cultures).
What is an ESwab? Definition and scope
The package insert (HPC030R05, 2023.03) describes a sterile package with two components: a pre-labeled polypropylene screw-cap tube filled with 1 mL of liquid Amies transport medium, and one or more collection swabs whose tips are flocked with soft nylon fiber. It is labeled for in vitro diagnostic use and is intended for collecting and transporting clinical specimens containing aerobes, anaerobes and fastidious bacteria from the collection site to the testing laboratory, where they are processed with standard clinical laboratory procedures for bacterial culture.
The name comes from “elution”: in the laboratory the tube is vortexed so the specimen is released from the flocked tip into the liquid and forms a homogeneous suspension. The medium is a modified liquid Amies: an inorganic phosphate buffer with calcium and magnesium salts and sodium chloride, with a reduced environment from sodium thioglycollate. For swab and medium types used in throat culture, including gel-type systems, see throat culture swab types.
How is an ESwab used in practice?
The insert states that the swab is placed immediately into the transport tube after collection and the tube goes directly to the laboratory. The insert says specimens should be collected and handled following published manuals and guidelines, and that specimens and the materials used to process them are treated as potentially infectious under CDC Biosafety Level 2 recommendations (see biosafety level 2). Because the tube is pre-labeled and the specimen is a liquid, correct labeling matters at the bench; see specimen labeling error prevention.
The insert also notes three normal appearances that are not defects: the medium can look cloudy (salts), the swab tip can look slightly yellow to brownish, and the sodium thioglycollate can give a sulfur-like odor, described as normal and harmless.
Which clock applies? Three numbers people mix up
The “48 hours” figure is only one of three separate timings in the insert:
| Question | What the insert says |
|---|---|
| How soon should it reach the lab? | Directly, preferably within 2 hours of collection. |
| What if delivery or processing is delayed? | Refrigerate at 4-8 °C or hold at room temperature (20-25 °C) and process within 48 hours; N. gonorrhoeae cultures within 24 hours. |
| How is the unused product stored? | In its original container at 5-25 °C; do not overheat, incubate or freeze before use; do not use after the printed expiration date. |
Source: Copan ESwab package insert HPC030R05 (2023.03), checked 2026-10-30. The insert adds that independent studies have shown viability for certain bacteria is superior at refrigerated temperatures.
How long is an ESwab good for?
For a collected specimen: preferably delivered within 2 hours, and processed within 48 hours when delayed, or within 24 hours for N. gonorrhoeae cultures. For an unused kit: until the expiration date printed on the box, the individual sterile unit and the tube label, provided it was stored at 5-25 °C. These are different clocks, so a kit that is in date says nothing about how long a specimen already in the tube remains acceptable.
Types: the three ESwab formats
The insert lists three collection formats, each with a tube of medium and a different flocked nylon applicator:
| Format | Collection sites named in the insert |
|---|---|
| Regular flocked swab | Nose, throat, vagina, rectum, wounds, or faeces |
| Minitip | Small or less accessible areas: eye, ear, nasal passages, nasopharynx, throat, urogenital tract; pediatric collection |
| Minitip flexible | Nasopharynx; pediatric collection |
Source: Copan ESwab package insert HPC030R05 (2023.03), checked 2026-10-30. For how swab materials and collection sites differ more generally, see oropharyngeal swab types and materials.
Where it matters for labs and clinics
When a clinic or lab stocks transport swabs, the insert-stated facts worth confirming on the package in hand are the medium (liquid Amies), the applicator format, the expiration date, and the storage range. The receiving laboratory’s own specimen policy determines which devices and which tests it accepts; the insert states that it supports standard bacterial culture, and a Gram stain and molecular assays are addressed in the insert’s own sections. Quality control of transport devices is referenced to CLSI M40-A2.
Can you use ESwab for fungal culture?
The labeled intended use in the insert is bacterial: aerobes, anaerobes and fastidious bacteria. Fungal viability comes from separate, independent work. Gandhi, Summerbell and Mazzulli (Journal of Clinical Microbiology, doi:10.1128/JCM.01481-17; accepted manuscript dated 22 November 2017, checked 2026-10-30) tested 19 clinical and reference fungal strains, standardized to 0.5 McFarland, using a modification of the CLSI M40-A2 roll-plate method at room and refrigerator temperatures. Colony counts equal to or greater than those at time zero were obtained for the entire panel, and the authors concluded the system maintains prevalent opportunistic fungi for at least 48 hours. The authors note that the standard CLSI bacterial panel includes no fungal pathogens and that there were no formally published swab-system data on filamentous fungi before their study.
That is a laboratory viability result, not a statement of regulatory labeling for fungal culture. Whether a given laboratory accepts an ESwab specimen for fungal culture is the laboratory’s decision.
Common misunderstandings
- “48 hours” is the only number. The insert separates preferred delivery (2 hours), the process-by limit (48 or 24 hours) and unused-kit storage (5-25 °C until expiry).
- A cloudy tube or sulfur-like smell means a bad kit. The insert describes both as normal.
- Refrigerating is always required. The insert allows refrigeration at 4-8 °C or room temperature at 20-25 °C within the stated limits.
- It is the same as a dry swab or a gel-medium swab. It is a liquid-medium, flocked-tip system whose specimen is released into liquid by vortexing.
FAQ
What is an ESwab?
A Copan Liquid Amies Elution Swab system: a flocked nylon swab plus a tube of 1 mL liquid Amies medium, for collecting and transporting clinical specimens for bacterial culture.
How long is an ESwab good for?
Specimens: preferably to the lab within 2 hours, processed within 48 hours if delayed (24 hours for N. gonorrhoeae). Unused kits: until the printed expiration date, stored at 5-25 °C.
Can you use ESwab for fungal culture?
The insert’s intended use is bacterial. An independent 2017 study found 19 fungal strains stayed viable for at least 48 hours; the receiving laboratory decides what it accepts.
What is Copan ESwab?
Copan is the manufacturer; ESwab is its liquid Amies elution swab collection and transport system.
Sources
- Copan Italia. ESwab Collection and Transport System package insert, HPC030R05, 2023.03. copanusa.com. Date checked: 2026-10-30.
- Gandhi B, Summerbell R, Mazzulli T. Evaluation of Copan ESwab Transport System for Viability of Pathogenic Fungi Using Modification of CLSI M40-A2 Document. J Clin Microbiol, doi:10.1128/JCM.01481-17. Accepted manuscript. Date checked: 2026-10-30.
