Guest webinar
Extraction-free SARS-CoV-2 rapid RT-qPCR detection protocol for all primary respiratory sample types
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital staff have been on the frontline in the fight against SARS-CoV-2. In order to best control local outbreaks among staff, hospital professionals need to undergo regular screening procedures with efficient and fast protocols.
In this webinar, Dr. Nadine Lübke presents how her team developed an easy and rapid RT-qPCR assay for the direct detection of SARS-CoV-2, without the need for RNA extraction. This assay is currently being used in the Düsseldorf Hospital to frequently screen for COVID-19 among doctors and staff in contact with infected patients and has been crucial in preventing the local spread of infections.
Webinar outline
- Optimization of PrimeDirect RT-qPCR protocol for direct detection
- Optimization of sample collection and inactivation
- Validation of direct RT-qPCR protocol on primary respiratory samples
- Implementation of direct protocol for staff testing at the Düsseldorf Hospital
About the presenter
Dr. Nadine Lübke
Dr. Nadine Lübke is a Medical Specialist Virologist, and the head of Genotyping and Resistance Testing in the Institut für Virologie, at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany. She specializes in studying the resistance to anti-viral treatment for HIV and was recently awarded with the Science Prize for Clinical Virology 2019 from the German Association for Combating Viral Diseases (DVV) and the Society for Virology (GfV). In addition to her many years of clinical and scientific work in the field of HIV resistance testing, Dr. Lübke adapted her know-how to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overcoming roadblocks in the test development process to improve rural hospital COVID-19 testing (5 min)
When the conventional RNA extraction approach wasn't cutting it—lengthening turnaround time and limiting the capacity of COVID-19 testing at Indiana Regional Medical Center—Dr. Bharathan, chair of the Department of Biology at IUP, and his lab stepped up to develop a fast, sensitive extractionless protocol using Takara Bio's PrimeDirect Probe mix.
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