Alternatives to Viral Transport Medium for use in SARS-CoV-2 Sample Preparation

Abstract

Introduction: As the world struggles to manage and move forward from the clinical effects of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the ability to test for viral genomic RNA in patient samples is critical. Currently, the development and performance of SARS-CoV-2 clinical tests is impaired by a diminished supply chain of reagents needed for the tests, compelling labs to seek alternative, readily-available reagents as substitutes. Aim: To evaluate the suitability of Phosphate-Buffered Sal…