Ready To Go and its role in the future of molecular diagnostics

In general, any process that has requirements for a cold-chain or applications with a requirement to reduce the complexity of the [molecular diagnostic] assay could benefit from Ready-To-Go [ambient temperature assay stabilisation].

The technology is currently being applied to the fields of pathogen detection, virus identification, food testing, veterinary applications and security or bio-threat applications. The security and bio-threat applications are good examples of where a simplified workflow is required, as users typically have limited mobility due to the protective equipment worn. 

But, I think that the biggest impact is being made where stabilised reagents are aligned with developments in instrument technology. We are now seeing that there are truly portable nucleic acid testing platforms capable of delivering results within the time frame of a couple of hours. These instruments will change the way diagnostic tests are conducted and increase access of the global population to testing. In order to maximize the benefits afforded by the developments in instrumentation, the assay format has to meet the challenges of simplification and stabilization, which is where Ready-To-Go comes in.

What do you think?

This has been taken from a wider interview with Miles Burrows, GE Healthcare Product Manager, published in Biomarkers in Medicine (Future Science Group), 2013.  Read the remainder of the article here