Traditionally, sample preparation is a time-consuming, laboratory-based task and, in cases like nucleic acid-based testing, considered simply too complicated to package as a low-cost consumable.
TTP bucked this trend by developing the class-leading sample preparation consumable of the Bio-Seeq™ nucleic acid diagnostic instrument.
The Sample Preparation Unit (SPU) can extract and purify nucleic acid for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and subsequent detection. It is designed to allow simple, fast, comprehensive and accurate testing of samples (from solid tissue to fluids), for a variety of animal diseases.
The tests can be carried out in the field by veterinarians or other technicians without the time-consuming procedure of sending samples to a central laboratory.
To meet the challenging specification for the SPU, a multidisciplinary approach was required. While Smiths Detection provided the biochemistry, TTP was selected for its innovation and high-quality product engineering skills.
Close collaboration between these teams enabled the creation of a consumable that can extract and purify nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) from various samples such as blood, milk, vesicular tissue, faeces and swabs, which is then put through the PCR cycle prior to optical detection.
Product Highlights
- Fast in-situ diagnosis eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming laboratory tests
- Captures, in a low-cost consumable, the complex protocol that is typically applied in a laboratory by a skilled technician
- Accepts a wide range of solid and liquid samples
- Uses onboard reagents and an interchangable test-specific reagent pack
- Portable and easy-to-use by non-biochemists and scientists
- Universal, allowing use of disease/test-specific reagent packs
