While China's epidemic prevention and control efforts have achieved significant results, the growth trend of overseas outbreaks is still continuing, increasing the pressure on China to prevent imported cases and the complexity of preventing a rebound of the epidemic at home.
At present, the PCR application has been developed by leaps and bounds, and it has become a powerful tool in epidemic diagnosis and control. In order to avoid contamination and false positive or negative results in PCR methods and to ensure the accuracy of the results, in terms of the laboratory environmental safety control, the separate laboratory area design is strictly implemented with clear function areas to ensure a clean laboratory environment, strict flow of people and logistics, reasonable pressure gradients, and orderly airflow organization directions to effectively avoid cross-contamination.
In the event of pollution, the experiment must be stopped until the pollution source is found, and the experimental results must be invalidated and the experiment has to be repeated. Therefore, it is time-consuming and tedious to find the pollution source of the laboratory after the pollution occurs, and waste manpower and material resources. Hence, to avoid pollution, the first priority should be prevention, not elimination. Avoiding pollution is the priority key in the design and construction of PCR laboratories.
A standard PCR laboratory is generally divided into four areas, namely the reagent preparation area, the specimen preparation area, the PCR amplification area, and the product analysis area.
According to the requirements of the Ministry of Health of the P.R. China experimental areas must be separate from each other and cannot be directly connected. Each separate experimental area has a special gate for the staff to change work clothes and shoes. When entering each work area, they must strictly follow a single direction sequence, namely only from the left reagent preparation area, specimen preparation area, amplification reaction area one, purification area, amplification reaction area two to the post-purification area so as to avoid cross-contamination. In order to avoid cross-contamination between samples, the room adopts purification control, and the overall design is 100,000. The gate room (buffer room) is designed as a positive pressure area to ensure isolation from the external environment and avoid aerosol pollution that enters the area from the adjacent area.
The PCR laboratory is a clean air-conditioning system, which adopts a DC system without return air to prevent cross-contamination. The reagent preparation room is designed with a clean bench to ensure the reagent is free from air pollution. A biological safety cabinet is equipped in the specimen preparation room to ensure that the specimens do not pollute the room environment, and make sure that the specimens are protected from environmental pollution.
Complete laboratory supporting facilities are necessary to ensure the experimental work. Corresponding equipment and instruments should be equipped according to the different experimental contents of each laboratory, such as super clean bench, centrifuge, sampler, etc.
The main equipment of PCR laboratory is shown in the table below:
PCR Laboratory Areas |
Equipment Description |
Model |
Recommended Brand |
Reagent Preparation Area |
Medical refrigerator |
NB-395L |
NANBEI |
Pipette |
Adjustable 0.1-10µl |
NANBEI |
Mixer |
MIX-3000 Smart Mixer
MINI-4K 4000r/min |
NANBEI |
Micro centrifuge |
NH-6K 6000r/min |
NANBEI |
UV disinfection vehicle |
NXC-II |
NANBEI |
Specimen Preparation Area |
Metal bath |
NDK200-2 |
NANBEI |
Water bath |
HWS26 |
NANBEI |
Low temperature refrigerator |
NB-HW270 |
NANBEI |
High-speed centrifuge |
HR/16MW |
NANBEI |
High-speed desktop refrigerated centrifuge |
TG16MW |
NANBEI |
Mixer |
MINI-4K 4000r/min |
NANBEI |
Biological safety cabinet |
1100II A2 |
NANBEI |
Clean bench |
SW-CJ-2D |
NANBEI |
Pipette |
Adjustable 0.1-10µl |
NANBEI |
UV disinfection vehicle |
NXC-II |
NANBEI |
Amplification Area |
PCR amplifier |
96R |
NANBEI |
PCR amplifier |
96R |
NANBEI |
Horizontal electrophoresis system |
DYCP-31DN |
NANBEI |
Electrophoresis power supply |
DYY-6D |
NANBEI |
UV disinfection vehicle |
NXC-II |
NANBEI |
Micro centrifuge |
NH-6K 6000r/min |
NANBEI |
Product Analysis Area |
Medical refrigerator |
NB-HW270 |
NANBEI |
Constant temperature water bath |
HH-S4/HH-S6 |
NANBEI |
Gel imaging system |
WD-9413A |
NANBEI |
Molecular hybridization oven |
LF-I |
NANBEI |
Pipette |
Adjustable 0.1-10µl |
NANBEI |
UV disinfection vehicle |
NXC-II |
NANBEI |
Necessary supplies |
1000ul boxed sterilizing suction with filter |
1000ul |
NANBEI |
200ul boxed sterilizing suction with colorless filter |
200ul |
NANBEI |
0.2ml PCR thin-walled tube + flat cap
(8 rows) |
0.2ml |
NANBEI |
1.5ml centrifuge tube (boiling resistant) |
1.5ml |
NANBEI |
1.5ml centrifuge tube rack (60 holes) |
1.5ml |
NANBEI |
COVID - 19 pandemic disease has highlighted global vulnerabilities, not only affecting the world health system, but also all fields and institutions around the world, which is a wake-up call. In the face of the threat, we should unite as one. Now it is the time for the international union to work together to fight against the spread of the virus and overcome its impact.