Month: October 2024

Waste in PCR laboratories can add up quickly, leading to unnecessary expenses. From reagent loss to inefficiencies in equipment use, addressing these issues is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency and cutting costs.

Here are three practical strategies to minimize waste and optimize your lab’s resources:

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1. Vortex and Centrifuge Properly

One common source of waste comes from improper handling of reagents. When reagents aren’t fully mixed and settled, valuable liquid often gets stuck inside the caps of tubes, leading to waste. To avoid this, it’s essential to vortex reagents first to ensure everything is thoroughly mixed, followed by centrifuging to pull all liquid to the bottom of the tube.

Solution:
Make it a routine to vortex reagents thoroughly before centrifuging. This ensures all material is mixed and settles correctly, reducing the chance of reagent sticking to the cap and getting wasted.

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2. Use Calibrated Pipettes and Quality Tips

Even the smallest inefficiencies in pipetting can result in reagent waste. When pipettes aren’t calibrated or if low-quality tips are used, adhesion can cause reagents to remain inside the tip, meaning you’re not dispensing the full amount. Over time, this incomplete dispensing adds up, leading to significant reagent loss.

Solution:
Ensure that your pipettes are regularly calibrated for accuracy and invest in high-quality pipette tips that minimize adhesion. These adjustments ensure you get the full volume of reagent every time, reducing waste and saving on reagent costs.

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3. Switch from Pre-Plated to Liquid Reagents or Breakaway Plates

Pre-plated reagents offer convenience, but if your lab’s testing volumes fluctuate, they can lead to unnecessary waste. When you don’t need to use an entire plate, the excess reagents go unused and are often discarded. This is especially problematic if your lab regularly runs smaller volumes.

Solution:
Switch to a liquid reagent format for greater flexibility, especially if your lab uses 384-well plates, which support higher throughput. Alternatively, you can opt for breakaway pre-plated wells, allowing you to use only what you need, reducing waste.

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Conclusion

By making simple adjustments—vortexing and centrifuging properly, using calibrated pipettes and quality tips, and switching reagent formats—your PCR lab can significantly reduce waste and optimize its operations. These changes may seem small, but they can have a substantial impact on your lab’s efficiency and cost savings over time.

For PCR labs, efficiency and cost management are critical to staying competitive. As a manufacturer of PCR infectious disease reagents and a lab operator, I’ve seen firsthand what gives some labs a distinct edge. Two key factors can drastically improve throughput without incurring additional costs: equipment setup and reagent selection.

1. The Power of Equipment Setup: 96 vs. 384 Well Formats

PCR labs typically use either 96 well or 384 well plates. Both formats offer virtually identical costs per run in terms of consumables, but the 384 well format can provide four times the throughput. The difference here is scalability.

• 96 well format: Easier to handle with manual pipetting and allows access to breakaway pre-plated options. However, scaling up requires more resources.
• 384 well format: A single 384 well machine can match the throughput of four 96 well machines, meaning you’ll only need one machine instead of four. This means fewer validations, reduced consumable use, and significantly higher throughput without an increase in operational costs.

For example, our lab uses 384 well machines because they offer flexibility and scalability without additional overhead. The upfront costs of both systems are comparable, but the long-term scalability of 384 well machines makes it a clear winner when it comes to managing higher volumes efficiently.

2. Reagents and Multiplexing

Another major factor in optimizing throughput is the use of multiplexing reagents. Multiplexing allows you to run multiple tests within a single well, greatly reducing the number of wells required for each sample.

Take the example of Influenza A/B, COVID, and RSV, which I call a “Mini-RPP” panel. Using singleplex reagents, it would take four wells to complete this test. However, with multiplexing, you can complete the same test in one or two wells.

Let’s compare two labs:

• Lab 1:
  • Uses 96 well plates and singleplex reagents
  • Can perform 22 Mini-RPP tests (after accounting for controls)
• Lab 2:
  • Uses 384 well plates and multiplexing reagents
  • Can perform 172 Mini-RPP tests per run

The difference is clear: Lab 2 can handle 8 times more testing in the same amount of time, using the same consumables and reagents.

Why This Matters

Labs using 384 well setups combined with multiplexing reagents can dramatically increase their throughput, lower operational costs, and reinvest those savings into future growth. This gives them a huge advantage over labs that stick to 96 well machines and singleplex reagents.

Conclusion: Unlocking Efficiency for PCR Labs

If you’re looking to optimize your lab’s capacity and reduce costs, consider transitioning to a 384 well format and multiplexing reagents. These two factors alone can transform your lab’s efficiency, allowing you to handle more tests without needing extra equipment, staff, or consumables.

Respiratory Testing Surge in 2024-2025 The 2024-2025 respiratory season is expected to drive a 10-15% increase in testing volume for influenza, RSV, and COVID-19. Flu testing alone is anticipated to hit 15-20 million tests, a surge from last year’s figures, with RSV tests expected to top 5 million. This rise is driven by returning virus activity to pre-pandemic levels, coupled with increased awareness due to new RSV vaccines targeting infants and senior citizens.

While COVID-19 testing remains lower than its pandemic peak, labs should still prepare for around 10 million tests, particularly in areas where cases might surge during the winter.

Key Test Volumes by Disease

1. Influenza: Flu testing could reach up to 20 million tests, with heightened awareness from vaccine campaigns and potential earlier virus activity.
2. RSV: With over 5 million tests expected, particularly for infants and older adults, RSV testing will be a key driver of volume this season. Awareness from new vaccines for seniors and infants could further spike demand.
3. COVID-19: Although COVID-19 testing volumes have decreased, approximately 10 million tests are projected, with surges expected during peak respiratory season.
4. H5N1: While the risk remains low, there is potential for growth in H5N1 testing, particularly in regions with higher poultry outbreaks. Adding H5N1 to your respiratory panels can differentiate your lab and attract demand from specialized sectors.

How Labs Can Capture the Volume

• Target High-Risk Groups: Pediatric practices, senior care facilities, and urgent care centers are key markets. By partnering with these facilities, labs can position themselves as go-to providers for comprehensive respiratory testing.
• Expand Respiratory Panels: Offering combined panels for flu, RSV, and COVID-19 can simplify diagnostics for healthcare providers. Including H5N1 testing further differentiates your offerings.
• Leverage Rapid and Mobile Testing: Offering rapid, same-day results for flu, RSV, and COVID-19 will increase demand from urgent care and retail clinics. Providing at-home testing kits for telehealth patients can also expand your reach.

Differentiating Your Lab Independent labs can stand out by offering comprehensive respiratory test panels, quick turnaround times, and niche offerings like H5N1. With growing demand in pediatric and senior populations, being proactive and flexible will help labs maximize their potential this season.

Conclusion The 2024-2025 respiratory season presents a significant opportunity for labs, with an expected 10-15% rise in testing demand. By expanding test offerings, focusing on high-risk populations, and partnering with key healthcare providers, independent labs can capture a significant share of the respiratory testing market.

P.S. If you want a small or large respiratory panel that is designed to capture as much demand as possible, click here to check out our respiratory panels.