Saline Gargle RT-PCR Method

Saline Gargle RT-PCR Method is a novel technique of testing COVID-19 samples. It was developed by the scientists from Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

In this method, a simple collection tubed is used to collect a saline solution gargled by the patients, which is then taken to a laboratory and kept at a room temperature of 30 minutes in a special buffer solution prepared by NEERI. An RNA template is obtained when this solution is heated and processed for RT-PCR. This whole process completes within 3 hours.