We’re making swabs to help address the shortage.
Our first product is the FiberFlex Rayon, a non-sterile absorbent tipped applicator. This swab is designed with a flexible nylon and carbon fiber shaft and a rayon ti
Swab56 Corp. currently manufactures a non-sterile swab, the FiberFlex Rayon (FDA Code KXF). The FiberFlex Rayon has a 3D printed shaft made from nylon and carbon fiber and a 100% rayon bud tip. It has a break-off point at 100mm and has demonstrated PCR compatibility. Our swabs are manufactured in the US (here at our HQ in San Diego, CA) with an American supply chain.
With help from our 3D printing partner, MarkForged, we’ve been manufacturing swabs and helping to bridge the supply gap in our local community and across the United States. As scientists, our team is also committed to R&D, and the FiberFlex Rayon swab is just the beginning. We have teamed up with Goddard, who has been augmenting the engineering power we have in house as we move forward with future products.
Swab56 is run by scientists and has not accepted outside investors to ensure that the science always comes first.
3D Printed Nylon Shaft
Fiberflex swabs are built using a nylon shaft which is reinforced with carbon fiber, making them stronger than ABS or nylon alone. They are flexible, but they can withstand mechanical force or torsion without break or shear. The swab designs were evaluated for clinical use and passed rigorous mechanical performance tensile and torsional testing.
Rayon Bud Tips
The applicator tip is wrapped with rayon. This makes our swab softer than others on the market, which have exposed 3D printed material on the tip where specimens are collected.
Individual Packaging
We package each swab individually in a Steriking pouch. We typically ship our swabs in minimum shipments of 1,000 swabs, so you are receiving swabs regularly. But if you’re interested in a smaller order to get samples, contact us through the “inquires” tab at the top of the page.
The Swab56 Project
The Swab56 Project is a collaborative effort between the teams at Neurophotometrics and the San Diego COVID-19 Research Enterprise Network (SCREEN). In March 2020, Neurophotometrics joined SCREEN to contribute our expertise in 3D printing to help create a viable alternative to the commercially available Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs that are in critically short supply.
We rapidly iterated through 55 prototypes over the course of 36 hours before reaching the final design — our namesake swab #56. In total, across clinical studies of 38 adult and pediatric patients, our swabs have had a 100% validation rate with no mechanical failures or adverse events during sampling from over 50 volunteers.
To ensure the safety and efficacy of our swabs, the Swab56 Project conducted validation studies at UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital. After steam sterilization at 270°F for a standard 4 minute cycle, our swabs underwent clinical testing.
These tests showed that our 3D printed swabs appeared to more effectively capture samples sufficient for positive viral detection than the commercially available swabs. They were also exceptionally sensitive: the swabs developed by the Swab56 Project successfully detected in COVID-19 in 4/4 patients with a CAP/CLIA+ COVID-19 test in the past 3-14 days and positively identified single virus infections in Respiratory Viral Panels performed on 5/5 patients. The commercial flocked swabs detected positive results in 2/4 and 3/5 patients in the same tests, respectively.
Since these exciting results, our team has been working furiously to bring a new source of NP swabs to market and make them accessible to the healthcare providers who desperately need them.
Leadership
Swab56 is run by scientists and has not accepted outside investors to ensure that the science always comes first.
Sage Aronson, PhD
Founder & CEO
Veronica Pessino, PhD
COO
Kelsey Ladt
Co-founder and CTO
Autri Chattopadhyay
CSO