The present invention provides a single self-contained device for
collecting, extracting, on-site testing, and transferring for forensic
confirmatory analysis, a wide variety of substances including, but not
limited to, drugs of abuse, explosives, weapons of mass destruction, food
toxins and industrial wastes. Samples can be obtained from a surface by
swabbing a suspect area or the testing of solid materials (pills,
capsules, powders), air samples and biological and non-biological fluids
by placing the substance in the device. The device includes a swab, a
retention well including a wash, and analysis technologies that can be,
for example, a lateral flow testing system. The swab is rinsed with a
wash prior to testing thereby not compromising the chemistry of the
detection technologies and allowing for a wide variety of applications
under a number of field conditions. Also, the device is a single
self-contained unit instead of having a separate reagent droppers or
sprays, making it compact and easy to use. Moreover, the device is
designed to not only collect and test samples but to seal the originally
target analyte, not affected by testing procedures, in a specially
designed cap for shipping under chain of custody documentation to a
forensic laboratory for confirmatory testing.