Labco Exetainer® User Guidance

Exetainer® Vial and Cap Sealing Guidelines

The Exetainer® Single Wadded Cap has a pierceable chlorobutyl rubber septum inside, which creates a seal with the vial.

Whilst the Exetainer® vial has been designed to minimise the effects of overtightening, this should be avoided wherever possible. Overtightening may cause the septum to overly ‘pucker’ and/or cause the cap to distort, potentially compromising the sample.

To apply the cap sufficiently:

Gently screw the cap onto the vial until resistance is felt with the septum.
Then turn the cap an additional one eighth to one quarter turn.
Looking at the top of the cap, on the sealed vial from above, a very slight indentation of the septum may be seen through the aperture of the cap, indicating a good seal.

*NB: The Labco Exetainer® RK vial has a special wider thread profile compared to that of our standard threaded vials. Extra care should be taken to ensure an adequate seal is achieved between the vial and cap.

The same procedure above applies for Double Wadded Caps, however a slight domed appearance of the red septum may be seen through the aperture of the cap

Download a PDF copy of these guidelines here.

Exetainer® Breath Vial User Guideance

This guidance is provided for the use of clinical professionals and for use in association with kit manufacturer’s instructions.

Intended Use

Labco Exetainer® Breath Vials are intended for use in the collection and storage of human breath samples for subsequent analysis. Intended users are professionals within medical or non-medical settings (sample collection) and scientific trained persons (sample analysis). The majority of Exetainer® Breath vials are supplied to pharmaceutical companies for inclusion in their Breath Collection kits.

The 12ml Exetainer® Breath Vials are supplied non-sterile and are intended for single use.

Providing a Sample of Breath in an Exetainer® Breath Vial

Remove cap from vial.

Place a suitable straw (e.g. Labco Individually Wrapped Plastic Straws – product no. VP116/C) into the vial, ensuring that the tip of the straw extends to the bottom of the vial.
Take 2 to 3 breaths to clear the lungs – inhaling and exhaling fully.
With the last exhale – gently blow through the straw into the vial, whilst slowly withdrawing the straw from the vial.
Re-apply the cap to the vial as quickly as possible.
Ensure the cap seals well with the vial, but do not over tighten (refer to Cap Sealing Guidelines below).
The Exetainer® Breath Vial has an internal coating baked onto the inside of the vial.
The warm breath, in conjunction with the internal coating, will create condensation within the vial and achieve a cloudy appearance, indicating that a suitable sample has been provided.

Exetainer® BreathVial - Cap Sealing Guidelines

The Exetainer® cap has a pierceable chlorobutyl rubber septum inside, which creates a seal with the vial.

To apply the cap sufficiently:

Gently screw the cap onto the vial until resistance is felt with the septum.
Then turn the cap an additional one eighth to one quarter turn.
Looking at the top of the cap, on the sealed vial from above, a very slight indentation of the septum may be seen through the aperture of the cap, indicating a good seal.

Notice

Any serious incident that has occurred in relation to the device shall be reported to the manufacturer and the competent authority of the Member State in which the user and/or the patient is established.