The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in demand for population scale pathogen screening. The most sensitive and reliable method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 remains reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). However, current platforms for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection have not yet met the demand for large scale, rapid testing. Here, we present an ultra-fast PCR platform, NEXTGENPCR, which accelerates RT-PCR assays. The NEXTGENPCR machine provides a small footprint capable of running PCR in 96 or 384 well plates in less than 10 minutes; and RT-PCR in less than 16 minutes. Come learn how you can accelerate RT-PCR for direct detection or sequencing applications.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand how NEXTGENPCR accelerates SARS-CoV-2 assays and chemistries

2. Considerations for setting up an efficient workflow to process >1,000 per hour

3. Understand how accelerated cycling yields equivalent assay performance