Chelex 100 Resin for Viral RNA Preparation for COVID-19 Testing

Chelex 100 Resin Inhibits Nuclease Activity

Chelex 100 Resin is designed to strongly bind divalent metal ions such as Mg2⁺ that are required for the activity of metallo-nucleases. The addition of Chelex 100 effectively inhibits nuclease activity in complex samples and stabilizes samples for downstream PCR applications. Simultaneously, Chelex 100 Resin efficiently removes PCR inhibitors. Thus, Chelex 100 can be utilized in place of expensive DNA or RNA extraction kits for molecular diagnostics testing.

Sample Preparation Workflow

Chelex 100 Resin enables DNA or RNA preparations from complex samples without DNA or RNA extraction kits. A fast, simple four-step workflow is typically sufficient for the preparation of nucleic acids from a wide variety of sample types. Additional reagents can easily be combined with Chelex 100 if required for the specific sample/application.

RNA Sample Preparation for COVID-19 Testing with Chelex 100 Resin

Chelex 100 Resin has long been used for fast, easy DNA preparation from many sample types including forensic samples, blood, tissues, parasites, insects, and bacteria (see Further Reading section). Driven by supply issues in the COVID-19 pandemic, Chelex 100 Resin is now increasingly considered for RNA preparation for COVID-19 testing. See these publications to learn how laboratories can use Chelex 100 Resin to prepare RNA from clinical samples for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assays, providing a faster rapid and more cost-effective COVID-19 testing workflow.