Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 virus in saliva using a guanidium based transport medium suitable for RT-PCR diagnostic assays.

<h4>Background</h4>Upper respiratory samples used to test for SARS-CoV-2 virus may be infectious and present a hazard during transport and testing. A buffer with the ability to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 at the time of sample collection could simplify and expand testing for COVID-19 to non-co...

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Autores principales: Sukalyani Banik, Kaheerman Saibire, Shraddha Suryavanshi, Glenn Johns, Soumitesh Chakravorty, Robert Kwiatkowski, David Alland, Padmapriya P Banada
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/aac5e2b0b2c6472c9b2acee91bd089af
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Sumario:<h4>Background</h4>Upper respiratory samples used to test for SARS-CoV-2 virus may be infectious and present a hazard during transport and testing. A buffer with the ability to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 at the time of sample collection could simplify and expand testing for COVID-19 to non-conventional settings.<h4>Methods</h4>We evaluated a guanidium thiocyanate-based buffer, eNAT™ (Copan) as a possible transport and inactivation medium for downstream Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing to detect SARS-CoV-2. Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 USA-WA1/2020 in eNAT and in diluted saliva was studied at different incubation times. The stability of viral RNA in eNAT was also evaluated for up to 7 days at room temperature (28°C), refrigerated conditions (4°C) and at 35°C.<h4>Results</h4>SARS-COV-2 virus spiked directly in eNAT could be inactivated at >5.6 log10 PFU/ml within a minute of incubation. When saliva was diluted 1:1 in eNAT, no cytopathic effect (CPE) on VeroE6 cells was observed, although SARS-CoV-2 RNA could be detected even after 30 min incubation and after two cell culture passages. A 1:2 (saliva:eNAT) dilution abrogated both CPE and detectable viral RNA after as little as 5 min incubation in eNAT. SARS-CoV-2 RNA from virus spiked at 5X the limit of detection remained positive up to 7 days of incubation in all tested conditions.<h4>Conclusion</h4>eNAT and similar guanidinium thiocyanate-based media may be of value for transport, stabilization, and processing of clinical samples for RT-PCR based SARS-CoV-2 detection.