Seminar “Lyophilization and its application in PCR diagnostic kits”.

Next January 12, at 11:30h, a research conference entitled “Lyophilization and its application in PCR diagnostic kits” will take place in the Von Humboldt seminar room of IDiBE, located in the Torregaitán building of the Elche campus, within the program of seminars of the Master in Biotechnology and Bioengineering and the PhD Program in Bioengineering. The conference will be given by Dr. María Badal Tejedor, from the company Cepheid, and is organized by Prof. Enrique Roche Collado.

Brief description of the talk

“In certain pathologies, early diagnosis and in-situ results are essential. In this case, PCR molecular diagnostic tests require a comprehensive and easy to use system where the necessary temperature conditions, reagents and sample converge, and the reading of the result is fast. This method and detection system requires reagents of a biological nature in their active and stable form. For this, the biological components must be in solid form to ensure their stability at the time of use. Therefore, the biological material initially present in an aqueous solution must be dried without being exposed to high temperatures that would cause its inactivation. For this purpose, the freeze-drying process in the form of beads is essential. In this process the components are solidified and the aqueous medium is removed at freezing temperature. The freeze-drying process is complex and expensive, and its optimization is based on a detailed analysis of the behavior of the components in solution at certain pressure and temperature conditions.”