u201d from surfaces for the detection of target substances such as drugs pollutants explosives and chemical warfare agents however the brushes are only used to mechanically remove particles from the surfaces to be investigated collection of the particles and their transfer to a detection device by means of brushes cannot be found in the prior art nor can heating of the brushes used in a desorption device instead the particles are wiped off u201c dust pan brush arrangements u201d or guided by an air stream to a collecting filter thus in both cases particles must even be prevented from adhering to the brushes in contrast to the prior art the samplers according to the invention are designed so that they take up the particles effectively and are chemically stable at the required desorption temperatures in particular the high fiber density and the length of the fibers in the fiber bundles guarantee that they are very effective at removing and taking up particles adhering to surfaces fig1 a shows a first sampler 10 according to the invention which comprises a conical tube support 11 a pickup consisting of a fiber bundle 12 of flexible parallel glass fibers and a handle 13 the fiber bundle 12 contains about 10 4 glass fibers 30 micrometers in diameter and.