General description:
The novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus that is responsible for respiratory disease and was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The virus is contagious and is transmitted mainly through the exchange of droplets of mucus that are expelled when sneezing or coughing. The outbreak is an important reminder that the global community must strengthen national and international programs for the detection and response to future disease outbreaks.
Product details:
The Zena Max SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time PCR Detection Kit detects the presence of COVID-19. The assay consists of a forward primer, a reverse primer, and a probe labelled with the 5 ‘FAM ™ reporter dye and ROX with a 3’ quencher. As the new target cDNA strand is synthesized, the tightly bound probe is cleaved by the 5 ‘to 3’ exonuclease activity of Taq polymerase which releases the fluorescent reporter from the quencher and substantially increases the fluorescent signal.
The point at which fluorescence becomes detectable above the background, the quantitation cycle (Cq), is proportional to the amount of target present in the sample. The primer and probe sets target the RdRp gene and the N gene that had previously been used in the identification of the SARS coronavirus; however, there is no cross-reactivity with this or any other coronavirus sequenced so far. These assays are incorporated into a ready-to-use PCR master mix that uses hot start technology, minimizing non-specific reactions and ensuring maximum sensitivity.
This in vitro diagnostic kit provides qualitative detection. The Zena Max COVID-19 PCR Kit is sensitive to a minimum of one copy per reaction based on our validation methods and devices. The specificity of the AMD SARS-CoV-2 assay is up to 100% for the RNA of the human SARS-CoV-2 virus.