TOC (Total Organic Carbon) cleaning verification swab 

TOC (Total Organic Carbon) cleaning verification swab is a special sampling tool used to detect the residual amount of total organic carbon on the surface of equipment to verify the effectiveness of the cleaning procedure. Here is a detailed introduction to it:

Design and structure

• Material: Usually made of materials such as nylon. Nylon material has the advantages of being soft, not easy to shed debris, and not causing damage to the equipment surface, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of sampling.
• Head design: The head of the swab generally adopts a special flocking process, so that it has a large surface area and good adsorption performance, and can effectively adsorb the organic matter residue on the equipment surface.

Working principle

• Sampling process: During the cleaning verification process, use the TOC cleaning verification swab to wipe and sample the surface of the cleaned equipment. When the swab comes into contact with the equipment surface, the fluff on its head can adsorb the organic matter on the equipment surface, including residual drugs, cleaning agents, microbial metabolites, etc.
• Detection and analysis: After sampling is completed, put the swab into the TOC analyzer for detection. The TOC analyzer converts the organic matter adsorbed on the swab into carbon dioxide by methods such as high-temperature combustion or chemical oxidation, and then calculates the total organic carbon content in the sample by detecting the amount of carbon dioxide.

Application fields

• Pharmaceutical industry: In the process of drug production, the cleaning of equipment is crucial. TOC cleaning verification swabs can be used to detect the residual organic carbon on the surfaces of pharmaceutical equipment such as reactors, filling machines, and pipelines to ensure that drugs are not contaminated by residual drugs or cleaning agents from the previous batch and ensure drug quality and safety.
• Food and beverage industry: Used to detect the residual organic pollutants on the surfaces of food processing equipment such as mixers, filling machines, and conveyor belts to prevent food from being contaminated and ensure food safety.
• Cosmetics industry: In cosmetics production, when performing cleaning verification on production equipment, TOC cleaning verification swabs can detect organic residues on the equipment surface to ensure the quality and stability of cosmetics.

Advantages

• High sensitivity: It can detect extremely low concentrations of organic carbon residues. The lowest TOC content that can be detected usually reaches micrograms per gram or even lower levels, which is crucial for industries with strict cleaning requirements.
• Simple operation: Easy to use, no complicated pretreatment process is required, and it can be directly detected after sampling, saving time and labor costs.
• Accurate results: Used in conjunction with a TOC analyzer, it can provide accurate and reliable detection results and provide a strong basis for cleaning verification.

Limitations

• Strong pertinence: Mainly used for detecting organic carbon residues. It may not be able to effectively detect inorganic pollutants or specific chemical substance residues on the equipment surface. It is necessary to combine other detection methods for comprehensive evaluation.
• Affected by the environment: During the sampling and detection process, organic matter in the environment may interfere with the results. It needs to be operated in a relatively clean environment and appropriate measures should be taken to avoid cross-contamination.