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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2020; 12(04): 268-270
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1722551
Original Article

Stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Viral Lysis Buffer Stored at Different Temperatures

Nagaraj Perumal 
1   State Virology Laboratory, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Rajeev Kumar Jain
1   State Virology Laboratory, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Rakesh Shrivastava
2   Department of Microbiology, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Jaya Lalwani
2   Department of Microbiology, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Deepti Chaurasia
2   Department of Microbiology, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Abstract

Objectives The present COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increased need for molecular diagnostic testing. Delay in the specimen processing and suboptimal storage of suspected samples in laboratories leads to degradation of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA. Viral lysis buffers from RNA extraction kits have the potential to stabilize RNA. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in viral lysis buffer at different temperatures and time periods.

Materials and Methods Aliquots of samples with known SARS-CoV-2 RNA were processed in viral lysis buffers simultaneously, stored separately at 2 to 8°C and 22 to 28°C for 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was extracted from each aliquot and analyzed using multiplex real-time PCR.

Results SARS-CoV-2 RNA in samples placed in viral lysis buffer was stable for 48 hours at both 2 to 8°C and 22 to 28°C temperatures. Slight decline in the viral RNA quantity was found on aliquots tested after 48 hours of both the temperatures.

Conclusions Viral lysis buffer maintains the integrity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for up to 48 hours even at room temperature and supports delayed diagnosis with an overwhelming sample load in testing laboratories.

Keywords

RNA - SARS-CoV-2 - viral lysis buffer


Publication History

Article published online:
30 December 2020

© 2020. The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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