Greiner Bio-One Showcases VACUETTE Virus Stabilization Tube for Transport and Storage of COVID-19 Swab Samples

Greiner Bio-One (Monroe, NC, USA) showcased its new VACUETTE Virus Stabilization Tube that supports the safe transport and storage of specimens, including COVID-19 swab samples, at the 2020 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting.

At the AACC Virtual 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, Greiner demonstrated how its VACUETTE Virus Stabilization Tube can help alleviate some of the barriers to testing for SARS-CoV-2 that laboratories are experiencing. There has been a continued lack of available testing supplies, making it difficult to test the general population for determining the actual disease prevalence. Supplies include swabs for specimen collection and sterile tubes filled with some form of viral or universal transport media (VTM or UTM), which are in short supply around the world.

The FDA has recommended the use of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), in instances where typical transport media is not available, as an acceptable alternative to stabilize specimens within the transport tubes being sent to the lab for subsequent testing during this emergency situation. These transport tubes also allow for storage for up to 72h at 4°C. This means of transport will vastly improve the access to testing because PBS is more readily available than media. Greiner Bio-One has been able to transition production from blood collection tubes to PBS-filled, sterile tubes on a large scale to help reduce the shortage of specimen collection supplies for molecular testing, which remains the recommended method for diagnosis of COVID-19.

VACUETTE Virus Stabilization Tubes are intended for the transport and storage of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab specimens. Meant for use by healthcare professionals for SARS-CoV-2 testing only, VACUETTE Virus Stabilization Tubes are made of PET with a pre-defined volume of a phosphate buffer saline solution at a pH of 7.4±0.2 to allow for the storage of the SARS-CoV-2 swab specimens for up to 72h at 4°C. The tubes are fitted with VACUETTE Safety Caps and the tube interior is sterile. The product is single use only and can be used on a single patient only. The CE-marked VACUETTE Virus Stabilization Tubes are manufactured according to Greiner Bio-One hygienic standards.