SARS-CoV-2 detection workflow in wastewater

Monitoring wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 – or Coronavirus as it is more commonly known – can be a valuable data resource for an effective COVID-19 management. However, there are several challenges involved in detecting biological parameters in wastewater. Fortunately, there are also several solutions available to overcome them.

Wastewater can be a carrier medium of SARS-CoV- 2 as recent studies have conclusively shown. In 2020 Analytik Jena’s real-time PCR thermal cyclers of the qTOWER³ series even supported one of the first SARS-CoV-2 wastewater screenings in Japan. Since then, the monitoring of wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 and pathogens in general gained more and more attention. Authorities and researchers evaluating its role as a tool for public health monitoring and management.

This article demonstrates how the coronavirus detection workflow in wastewater – from sampling, enrichment, and nucleic acid extraction to real-time PCR detection - can be efficiently implemented and how it can be used as an effective tool for COVID-19 management.

Workflow benefits at a glance

Automated and controlled sample collection for reproducible sample quality
Efficient enrichment allows low limits of detection
Automated nucleic acid extraction for minimal hands-on time
From sampling to final result in only three hours
Reliable results even in challenging wastewater matrix
Detection based on real-time PCR – the gold standard for viral diagnostics
One workflow - multiple biological parameters

All steps are designed to fit harmoniously together and provide laboratory users with a fast, reliable, and scalable workflow for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.