Introduction

Access to Expertise

The recent Coronavirus pandemic has led to the unprecedented need for diagnostic tests for detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and other Respiratory viruses in a variety of sample types. To address this need, laboratories around the world need high quality tools to enable them in catering to this rapidly expanding requirement for testing.

Reproducible, Quality Results

Positive controls provide quality control measures for a wide range of applications from diagnostic assay development to day-to-day testing. This includes the verification and validation of diagnostic tests of both next-generation sequencing (NGS) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays.

A Safe and Effective Alternative to “Live Virus”

Controls based on viral nucleic acids extracted from either an infected patient or from live virus propagated in cell culture have safety and security concerns. Synthetic controls created through gene synthesis broaden access across diverse strains while mitigating risk.

Flexible formats for your applications

Choose from Standard, Assay Ready, or Encapsuled Control formulations. The standard format provides the controls at high concentration in a frozen liquid formulation. The Assay Ready Controls are provided as a dried pellet that increases stability. Just as protein encapsulation of viruses offers more stable molecular storage, Twist’s The Encapsulated Control products leverage a metal capsule sealed around a desiccated pellet to enhance stability of the RNA controls.

Both the Assay Ready and the Encapsulated formulations are single use controls. The Assay Ready format allows for shipping at ambient temperatures and storage in standard freezers. The enhanced stability of the Encapsulated controls enables extended shelf life and both ship and store at room temperature. Ambient shipping reduces cost and increases accessibility for researchers across the globe.

Description

KEY BENEFITS

Fully synthetic RNA

Includes fully synthetic RNA generated from Twist gene fragments
Powerful alternative to live viruses

Full viral genome coverage

>99.9% viral genome coverage
NGS sequence verified
Enables versatility in assay design

Versatile controls

Positive controls perform for both qPCR and NGS assays
Content is well-aligned with Twist target enrichment panels

Standard Controls Assay Ready Controls Encapsulated Controls
Biosafety Level 1 Level 1 Level 1
Storage Temperature: -70°C to -90°C Temperature: -20°C Ambient(4°C – 40°C)
Specification Range Approximately 1×10^6 copies/μL Approximately 2×10^6 copies/tube Approximately 50,000 copies/tube
Physical State Frozen liquid Dried pellet Encapsulated dried pellet
Shelf Life 2 years 2 years 5 years
Shipping Dry Ice Ambient Ambient