China's first mobile nucleic acid testing lab makes debut

China's first mobile nucleic acid testing laboratory was put into use at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Aug 7.

Co-designed by Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai Customs, Shanghai Baoshan Pacific Container Co., Ltd and Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry-Chinese Academy of Sciences, the laboratory is the first p2+ mobile nucleic acid testing laboratory in a standard container size in the nation.

The laboratory, which can be transported by trucks, freighter and rail, measures less than 30 square meters and is divided into three sections: reagent preparation, sample processing and nucleic acid testing.

According to the Shanghai Customs, the laboratory can support on-site testing at Pudong International Airport and can deliver results two hours quicker than conventional testing which involves transporting samples to a lab in the city. The lab is expected to test at least 200 samples per day.

"The lab is equipped with a piece of integrated equipment for nucleic acid extraction and detection, which can realize a small amount of multi-batch detection. At the same time, it is equipped with an automatic nucleic acid extractor and PCR quantitative analyzer, which can meet the needs of large quantity testing," said Chen Tianchen, representative of the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee.

"The largest processing capacity in a day is 1,500 people, equivalent to the processing capacity of a medium and large-scale traditional laboratory in the city," he added.

According to Chen, the laboratory is equipped with remote monitoring and a one-click help function to ensure the safety of the staff.

He Yuping, director of the International Travel Health Care Center of Shanghai Customs, said: "The establishment of the laboratory not only embodies the concept of science and technology defense but also can play an important role in some unexpected emergencies that happens in communities or schools and other similar emergencies."

Liu Yan, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, added: "This is an important practice of Shanghai's adherence to scientific and technological anti-epidemic measures. It is a combination of prevention and meeting emergencies, scientific research and treatment, and prevention and control."