The COVID-19 pandemic has put increasing pressure on front-line healthcare workers to deliver fast and accurate test results. For any clinical diagnostic testing, laboratory professionals need assurance that sample preparation methods, as well as the instrumentation used to complete testing, are performing as intended. Inactivated positive controls provide that assurance by safely assessing the effectiveness of an instrument or assay.

Chemically inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Whole Virus Controls are ideal for the QC of any or all steps in the COVID-19 testing process. Like patient samples, the controls are composed of SARS-CoV-2 whole virus in a patient-relevant matrix that includes human epithelial lung cells. The controls can be taken through the entire testing protocol alongside a patient sample or as a surrogate for a patient sample, without the infectivity of a patient sample.

Helix Elite Inactivated Positive Controls, including SARS-CoV-2 controls, are suitable for:

• Evaluating the accuracy of a complex preparation with multiple steps like nucleic acid purification and qPCR
• Evaluating the performance of rapid diagnostic instruments
• Assessing variability among multiple operators or instruments
• Evaluating the efficacy of reagents used in the assay
• Validating sample adequacy with human epithelial lung cells

Inactivated virus controls are the ideal standard to verify performance, while maintaining the health and safety of the testing facility, ensuring confidence in results.

For a complete list of SARS-CoV-2 products, including synthetically derived RNA controls, visit https://www.microbiologics.com/sars-cov-2-quality-control.