RT PCR Kit For Coronavirus Explained Through FAQs

by Arjit Chalmela Finance Student

Since March 2020, the coronavirus has spread across the world with no vaccine found yet. The World Health Organisation called it a pandemic and most of the countries have lesser testing centres in the respective cities or regions. Keeping this in mind, IAEA in associated with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations offered support and expertise to countries using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, which is RT PCR. It is the most accurate methods for testing, tracking, and studying the virus symptoms.

What is the RT PCR KIT about? How does it work? How is it different from PCR? How is this associated with nuclear technology? We shall all these questions through some FAQs.

What is RT PCR?

It is a nuclear-derived method which detects the presence of any genetic material in pathogens, including the virus. Initially, the technique used was radioactive isotope markers for detecting targeted genetic materials. Such methods allow scientists to check the results immediately, even when the detection process is on.

However, the RT PCR testing provides results at the end. The RT PCR testing is a widely used laboratory method for detecting the virus. Earlier, this method was used for detecting the Ebola virus and Zika virus. There are some countries today that need support for Covid-19, significantly to increase the testing capacities.

What are the virus and genetic material for Covid-19?

A virus is a microscopic package where genetic material gets surrounded by a molecular envelope. This genetic material could be deoxyribonucleic acid or ribonucleic acid. Viruses such as coronavirus contain only RNA, which means they rely on infiltrating healthy cells for multiplying and surviving. Once inside the cell, the virus use the genetic codes for controlling and reprogramming the cells, turning them into a virus-making factory.

How does RT PCR kit work?

A sample from the affected coronavirus part gets collected, like the nose or throat. The model receives treated with several chemical solutions which remove substances like proteins and fats and extract only the RNA from the sample. This RNA is a mix of genetic material and if present, the virus RNA too. The RNA gets reverse transcribed to DNA using specific enzymes. The mixture then gets placed to the coronavirus test kit.

The machine cycles through temperatures which heat and cool the mixture for triggering specific chemical reactions, creating new and identical copies of the target section of viral DNA. The standard RT PCR goes through 35 cycles, which means by the end of the process there are about 35 million copies of the sections of viral DNA which get created from each strand of the virus present.

Why use RT PCR?

This method is too sensitive and specific and delivers a reliable diagnosis within three hours, although some laboratories take up to six to eight hours. As opposed to other virus isolation methods, the RT PCR kit is faster and commits lesser errors as the entire process gets done through closed tubes. However, you cannot detect past infections with this, which is crucial for understanding the development and spread of the virus, considering they are present in the body for a specific window of time.