Currently, the "antigen screening, nucleic acid diagnosis" model for novel coronavirus testing has been widely used in major scenarios, and some people would like to know what is the role of nucleic acid preservation solution and antigen preservation solution for novel coronavirus testing? Can they be shared?
Nucleic acid preservation solution
The nucleic acid test is performed on the nucleic acid gene fragments inside the virus. The nucleic acid preservation solution is used to protect the viral nucleic acid from rapid degradation in vitro so that the nucleic acid sequence can be amplified for testing purposes. Nucleic acid preservation solutions are mainly divided into inactivating and non-inactivating types.
Inactivating solutions inactivate the collected viruses, depriving them of their ability to infect, while ensuring the integrity of the viral nucleic acids in the sample and allowing for transport and long-term storage of the collected viral samples under ambient conditions. Non-inactivating solutions keep the virus active, do not inhibit subsequent nucleic acid amplification, and require refrigeration for storage and testing as soon as possible. Because the virus is not inactivated, there is a risk of manipulation error when performing nucleic acid testing. It is not necessary to culture live viruses, and inactivated virus preservation solution is usually sufficient.
Antigen preservation solution
New coronavirus antigen is a protein of the new coronavirus. Antigen preservation solution is a solution that increases the permeability of cell membranes or even completely shatters them, allowing the release of specific proteins, and keeps the specific proteins in a stable soluble state in the solution without denaturation or decomposition, ensuring that they can be used for antigen-antibody immunoreactivity on the test panel.
Can Nucleic Acid Preservation Solution and Antigen Preservation Solution be substituted for each other?
The guanidine salts and other components in the nucleic acid preservation solution will denature the antigen protein and affect the antigen-antibody reaction, preventing the formation of antigen-antibody complexes and leading to false negatives, so the new coronavirus nucleic acid preservation solution and antigen preservation solution cannot be shared and are not interchangeable.
The manufacturers do not recommend the use of inactivated nucleic acid preservation solution instead of antigen preservation solution. In addition, the antigen preservation solutions of different manufacturers are not interchangeable. The performance of a manufacturer's antigen detection reagent is related to the pH of its matching preservation solution. When a non-matching sample preservation solution is used, it can lead to a change in the pH of the reaction environment, resulting in false-positive or false-negative results.
We have a good reputation in the market, fast delivery and high cost performance, so you can choose different preservation solutions according to your experimental needs and testing conditions. Welcome to cooperate and negotiate!
