In this paper, Killip et al., (Public Health England) have used RNAssist’s virusPHIX™ reagents to demonstrate SARS-CoV-2 inactivation.
We were asked by the UK Department for Health and Social Care to participate in this study for non-guanidine reagents (guanidine being potentially very toxic but commonly used for inactivation). It was great to see these excellent results from the paper!
Diagnostic procedures are often associated with infectious risks – a pathogen inactivation step during sample collection and processing is necessary. It is crucial to assess the effectiveness of these inactivation methods.
This study assessed inactivation effectiveness of twenty-four next-generation (guanidine-free) nucleic acid extraction lysis buffers and twelve rapid antigen test buffers against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19.
The resulting data has significant safety implications for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing and support the design and evidence-based risk assessment of these procedures.