Large area surface sampler with invertible bag

A surface sampling device, comprising;

• a bag having an interior surface and an exterior surface, with a sealable opening at one end;
• a collection material bonded to an exterior surface of the bag;
• a protective cup sealed to the external surface of the bag and covering the collection material, the protective cup having a handle;
• a sampling port in the bag opposite the sealable opening;
• wherein the bag is adapted for use in an inverted position with the interior surface on the outside;
• wherein the bag is sized such that the user can place a hand into the bag, for use as a glove during sampling;
• wherein the bag can be re-inverted and sealed after sampling to enable transport or extraction of the collected sample;
• and
• wherein an extracted sample can be withdrawn from the bag through the sampling port.

A method for collecting and detecting materials residing on surfaces, comprising:

• providing a bag with a sealable opening with a wetted collection material bonded to an exterior surface, with a removable protective covering and a sampling port opposite the sealable opening, wherein the bag is provided to the user in an inverted position with the inside surface on the outside;
• placing a hand into the bag and removing the protective covering;
• sampling a surface area with the wetted collection material using an overlapping wiping method;
• re-inverting the bag and sealing it closed with the sealable opening;
• compressing and releasing the collection material one or more times to push fluid out of and back into the collection material;
• attaching a syringe to the sample port;
• holding the bag vertical with the sample port and syringe at the bottom and compressing the collection material to extract fluid therefrom;
• withdrawing the liquid sample using the syringe;
• and
• detecting the captured material.