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Viruses vary in composition, structure, morphology, size, and stability. The process of collecting virus samples and shipping them to laboratories for testing is key to studies of viruses and their associated diseases. It is generally recommended that specimens for virus isolation be inoculated into cell culture as soon as possible. If a suitable transport medium is used, successful and reliable isolation can be accomplished. For the infectious or pathogenic viruses, rapid inactivation of viruses is a solution for safe transport and routine detection.

Viral Inactivation Buffers

Inactivir® viral inactivation buffer (VIB) is used to inactivate pathogens in transport tubes containing pathogenic samples. Inactivir® VIB lyses the cells and denatures the virus in the sample, leaving the virus in an inactive and non-pathogenic state, which makes the transport and detection process safer and reduces the requirement for Category 2+/3 handling of potentially pathogenic samples. The formulation of Inactivir® VIB can inhibit nuclease activity, allowing samples to be transported at room temperature and maintaining virus stability.

Product Range

Amerigo Scientific offers a range of optimised viral inactivation buffers to meet specific needs.

Properties

Validated with both column and magnetic-bead based methods, Inactivir®, Inactivir® PLUS and Inactivir® SDI STANDARD allow samples to be added directly to silica-based nucleic-acid purifications. This means the amount of sample used in the purification can be doubled, as there is no need to add binding buffer in the first step of processing. This will increase sensitivity as twice the amount of sample is purified.

Inactivir® SD LITE and Inactivir® SD COMPLETE are capable of being used in some ‘direct to PCR’ assays. Tests showed compatibility with standard RT-QPCR reactions for SARS nCoV-19 with addition of 2.5 µl per 20 ul reaction with Mastermix. Both Inactivir® SD LITE and Inactivir® SD COMPLETE have been validated for direct-to-loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) testing methods using published NEB primers and Mastermix.

Applications

Inactivir® VIB is a series of buffers that inactivate viruses responsible for epidemics such as Covid-19, SARS, MERS, Ebola, etc. These buffers are designed to be used at a maximum sample to buffer ratio of 1:3.

Key Benefits

• Inactivir® VIB inactivates any viral particles, making it non-pathogenic.
• Samples treated with Inactivir® VIB can be transported at room temperature and no cold chain is required in handling.
• The buffers are widely compatible with current RNA extraction protocols and can be used without disruption to current processing protocols.
• Inactivir® VIB is formulated to stabilize the virus by destroying enzymes and proteins (including RNase) that degrade RNA/DNA.
• No PCR inhibitors in Inactivir® VIB

Viral Transport Media

Viral transport media are liquid systems that transport viruses in active form to the laboratory for isolation and are particularly suitable for samples collected by swabs, such as skin, nasopharyngeal, cervical, and urethral samples. Relatively high titers of virus particles were collected in these samples. Some laboratories recommend removing the swabs, while others recommend shipping the swabs with the culture medium.

Amerigo Scientific offers an isotonic solution for virus transport that contains protective protein, antibiotics to control microbial contamination, and pH control buffers.

Applications

The viral transport medium is used primarily for transporting swabs or materials released from a collection swab.

Swabs for Upper Respiratory Specimens

The swabs are made of synthetic fiber with plastic applicators and are CE, ISO13485, ISO9001, and FDA certified.