The working principle of the iClean® Virus Transport System (VTM-RT) is mainly based on the following aspects:

Sample collection and preservation

• Efficient collection: The sampling swabs equipped in the system adopt special materials and designs, such as nylon flocked materials, which can increase the contact area with the virus and improve the collection efficiency of the virus, effectively adsorbing virus particles.
• Nutrition maintenance: The preservation solution contains nutrients necessary for the survival of the virus, such as salts, proteins, glucose, etc., providing necessary nutritional support for the virus and maintaining its activity in vitro.
• Stable environment: By adding buffers, the pH value of the preservation solution is maintained within an appropriate range, creating a stable acid-base environment for the virus, preventing the virus from being inactivated due to pH value changes. At the same time, the preservation solution also has a certain osmotic pressure to avoid damage to the virus due to inappropriate osmotic pressure.

Inhibition of microbial growth

• Bacteriostatic components: The preservation solution contains bacteriostatic agents, such as antibiotics such as penicillin and streptomycin, or other chemicals with bacteriostatic effects, which can inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms that may exist in the sample, such as bacteria and fungi, reduce the competition and interference of microorganisms with the virus, and prevent the destruction of the virus by microbial metabolites.

Prevention of virus degradation

• Nucleic acid protection: For some virus samples based on nucleic acid detection, the preservation solution may add nuclease inhibitors, such as EDTA, etc., which can inhibit the activity of nucleases, prevent the virus nucleic acid from being degraded during the transport process, ensure the integrity of the nucleic acid, and improve the accuracy of the detection.

Safe transport

• Sealed design: The sampling tube of the transport system adopts a sealed design, which can effectively prevent the sample from leaking during the transport process, avoiding pollution to the operators and the environment, and at the same time reducing the impact of external factors on the sample.
• Good compatibility: This system is compatible with a variety of detection methods and equipment, such as nucleic acid detection, antigen detection, etc., facilitating the transport and detection of samples between different laboratories and detection platforms.