Zymo Research provides biomedical tools and services to researchers working on COVID-19 testing, including support for Opentrons customers.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zymo Research is a provider of biomedical tools and Businesses that serve<\/a>. Currently, they are helping major laboratories conduct new coronavirus testing<\/a>. To this end, they created a complete new coronavirus detection workflow from sample collection, RNA extraction to rRT-PCR-based detection. <\/a>, this workflow has entered the FDA's pre-emergency use authorization review status. Zymo Research<\/a> as Opentrons' co-development test system partner<\/a>, Zymo Research is willing to offer support to anyone interested in loading this workflow intoOpentrons Liquid Handling Robot<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we invited Zymo\u2019s research expert Casey Cruz<\/a> to share with you how they use OT-2 for COVID-19 testing to help fight the global epidemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opentrons: What was your daily life like before the outbreak? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casey Cruz:<\/strong> Before the outbreak, we initially purchased OT-2 for RNA-Seq library preparation. If our work no longer needs to be used for COVID-19 detection, we are still very much looking forward to working with Opentrons Collaborate on this project. To this end, we have even written a script for rRT-PCR setup and hope to apply it to Pangea Laboratories<\/a>\u2019s SARA-CoV-2 Laboratory Developed Test (LDT). As a product manager for RiboFree RNA-Seq Kit<\/a>, I am fascinated by the price of OT-2 and attracted by the open source community of Opentrons<\/a>. During the initial verification period of the project, it performed very well in all aspects, but due to the outbreak, I had to temporarily change the research direction and instead invest in assisting the new coronavirus detection project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opentrons: Is what you do now different from your daily routine? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casey:<\/strong> Our work now is to submit an FDA Emergency Use Authorization application for the COVID-19 testing workflow. This project workflow includes sample collection to RNA extraction to rRT-PCR detection, from transport media to DNA\/RNA protectants <\/a>Initially, the new coronavirus needs to be completely inactivated during sample collection and transportation, so that RNA can be stored at room temperature for up to 30 days. This is a great way to have practical applications where DNA\/RNA in biological samples can be preserved without a cold chain and used in automated sample processing workflows when the samples are shipped back to the laboratory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, we used Quick-DNA\/RNA Viral MagBead Kit<\/a> for RNA extraction , and use the Quick-SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR Test Kit to complete the workflow of new coronavirus detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n