Twist Bioscience RUO SARS-CoV-2 NGS Assay, Biotia COVID-Dx Software

Twist Bioscience has launched its research use-only SARS-CoV-2 next-generation sequencing assay.

The capture-based assay is for detection, characterization, and environmental monitoring of the virus from nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, anterior nasal, and mid-turbinate nasal swabs, as well as nasopharyngeal wash/aspirates, nasal aspirates, and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens. It was validated on Illumina's NextSeq platform and includes Twist's synthetic SARS-CoV-2 RNA controls. The limit of detection is 800 viral copies/ml.

The test comes with COVID-Dx comprehensive data analysis software from Biotia, which provides an RUO report on the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, the full sequence of the virus, genetic variants, and phylogenetic analysis.