Bedfordshire team’s technology aims to transform battle against COVID

A new sampling technology developed by a partnership between Life Science Group of Bedford, and the University of Bedfordshire, has the potential to transform the global battle against Coronavirus and other viruses by improving the speed and safety of sampling, whilst maintaining the quality of the viral sample. 

Public Health England (PHE) have formally validated the approach, confirming that the new testing buffer the team has developed does inactivate the virus, making the samples non-infectious and safe to handle. 

Life Science Group in Bedford and researchers from the University of Bedfordshire’s School of Life Sciences are working together to produce a range of second-generation ‘Stabilising Viral Inactivation Buffers’ for the transportation of samples for viral testing, with government support through an Innovate UK grant. 

PHE has now formally validated these new buffers showing that they inactivate the virus. The inactivation buffer is expected to work not just for COVID-19 samples, but for other viruses such as Ebola and will have many different sample applications globally. 

The new Inactivir range of ‘Stabilising Viral Inactivation Buffers’ from Life Science Group is now in the final stages of development. These buffers will be used in sample tubes following the collection of saliva or swab material from the patient and will inactivate any viral pathogens during transportation to the laboratories. 

Jenny Murray, managing director, Life Science Group, said: “The positive results coming through from Public Health England have confirmed the importance of this approach in the global battle against Coronavirus and other viruses. 

“The benefits to the whole testing process are many and varied and include a safer and more effective way of handling a wide range of samples in the future. Other benefits include, low toxicity, longer shelf life and the prevention of degradation of samples to reduce issues of false negatives. The buffers can be used with a variety of extraction protocols and, above all, will increase the safety, speed and ease of testing. 

Dr Robin Maytum, principal lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Bedfordshire, added: “The demand for localised safe and rapid molecular testing is clear and this product will help protect not just the public, but also those who handle and transport viral samples including the laboratory staff involved in the testing. This technology also preserves the quality of the sample helping to ensure the accuracy of tests. 

“This approach is not only important for the high-tech testing environments found in this country, but maybe even more so in less developed parts of the world which don’t have our established systems and processes.