Omega Bio-tek, Inc. announces the launch of the Mag-Bind? Viral RNA Xpress Kit for the rapid and reliable isolation of Viral RNA from nasopharyngeal (NP) swab specimens that are dry or in viral transport media (VTM).  The new kit aims to combat the shortage of RNA purification kits, which is used in the first steps of COVID-19 testing.  The new magnetic bead-based extraction kit is adaptable to most liquid handling platforms for scalable, high-throughput purification.  Protocols are available for the Hamilton Microlab? STAR, Hamilton Microlab? MagEx STARlet, Hamilton Microlab? NIMBUS, Thermo  KingFisher?, Qiagen BioSprint?, Applied Biosystems MagMax? 96, and the Tecan DreamPrep? NAP.   

The Mag-Bind Viral RNA Xpress Kit allows scientists to increase their purification throughput by reducing the number of reagents and protocol steps while allowing for efficient recovery of viral nucleic acids with minimal inhibitor carryover. Viral RNA purified using the Mag-Bind Viral RNA Xpress Kit is suitable for common downstream applications such as RT-qPCR.

"With the new Mag-Bind Viral RNA Xpress Kit, we are able to deliver a robust and reliable extraction product and triple our production capacity to produce up to 6 million tests per month," said Travis Butts, Vice President of Omega Bio-tek. "We are proud that we can assist scientists, researchers, and healthcare workers around the world in accelerating the screening and detection of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, disease."

About OMEGA BIO-TEK

Omega Bio-tek, founded in 1998, is a leading manufacturer of nucleic acid purification kits for clinical, biotechnology, and agricultural research. It offers high-quality products in DNA and RNA extraction, the first step for many downstream analyses.