Polyester nasal swabs collected in a dry tube are a robust and inexpensive, minimal self-collection kit for SARS-CoV-2 testing
Fig 3
Surrogate nasal swabs are stable at elevated temperatures mimicking warm-climate transport conditions.
Dry polyester (blue), dry foam (red), and polyester swabs stored in saline (gray) were stored refrigerated (A, 4°C) or at elevated temperatures (B, 40°C 12 hours, 32°C) through 72 hours. No PCR amplification was assigned a Ct value of 40. *Statistically different, p<0.05.