| Noninvasive, easy to collect, low cost |
Despite its accessibility, it has not been widely and sufficiently studied as a bio fluid |
| No/minimum external contamination |
Earwax composition shows a high inter-individual variability depending on many factors (sex, age, season, menstruation, etc.) |
| No risk of disease transmission as in blood sampling |
Timely reproduction, since time (few days) is required for the build-up of the sample thus it is not suitable for continuous monitoring |
| No need for trained medical staff |
| Samples are easy to ship and store |
| No/minimum embarrassment or discomfort associated with blood and urine tests |
Lack of standardized methods for earwax collection |
| Requires less sample pretreatment or manipulation for diagnostic tests |
| Can detect both recent and long-term exposure unlike blood, urine, saliva, etc.
|
Till now, cerumen analysis involves complicated instrumentation as GC–MS, LC-MS that requires trained personnel |
| Economical sampling, shipping and storage compared to blood |
| Sampling can be done at home |
| GC-MS – gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. LC-MS - liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. |
