In addition to the recently described noninvasive preparation of keratinocytes from hair roots and small volume blood from finger pin prick, the use of buccal cell swabs is a simple method to obtain primary starting material. The human oral mucosa consists of a stratified squamous epithelium at the surface and an underlying connecting tissue (lamina propria). The epithelium in the inner cheek is not keratinized and is composed of epithelial cells, pigment cells, Langerhans cells, and Merkel cells [75]. Up to date, no paper has been published directly describing the generation of iPSCs from cheek swabs. But nonetheless the use of buccal swabs is routinely done for the collection of DNA samples, for example, human leukocyte antigen testing [11] or paternity tests. The donor has to brush a swab against the cheek and the loose buccal cells stick to the swab. In this process, cells isolated from the swabs will be taken in culture and expanded and DNA can be isolated.
