Since 2019, the world has changed significantly, and we now understand that RNA-containing viruses (such as coronaviruses) from natural reservoirs can pose a significant threat to all of humanity.
In order to effectively monitor the presence of such viruses in natural reservoirs, specialized media are needed for collecting and transporting samples for subsequent analysis.
Our TVM medium is manufactured according to a formulation recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for collecting swabs from biological specimens and surface swabs from surfaces potentially contaminated with RNA-containing viruses.
One vial is sufficient for collecting 100 samples.
We have recently added some very convenient swabs to our catalog, featuring an easily detachable tip for collecting swab samples from animals. The swab is placed in a 2-mL Eppendorf-type tube containing 1 mL of pre-prepared TVM medium.
If, prior to the start of RNA extraction, transport of the sample in TVM will take more than 72 hours and/or it is impossible to maintain a temperature range of 2–8 °C during transport, the samples must be frozen at -70 °C using an equal volume of CryoVM cryopreservation medium for the preservation of viral samples.
To isolate RNA from liquid virus-containing samples, use specialized kits—such as RNA-Xtrac Viral. For subsequent reverse transcription, you can use MMLV (for PCR) or Mint (for sequencing) enzymes from our partner, Eurogen. These reverse transcription kits can be purchased not only directly from Eurogen but also from us—the price is the same.