The rTEST COVID-19 B.1.1.7 qPCR kit is a qualitative in vitro confirmatory test designed for specific detection of the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 first described by the United Kingdom. This coronavirus lineage is associated with increased transmissibility. The kit contains two sets of primers and hydrolysis probes (TaqMan®) targeting either the consensus (C95) sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) gene or select mutations in the S gene of the B.1.1.7 variant. Both sets allow the detection of the human RNase P gene. The TaqMan® probes for the S gene of both the consensus SARS-CoV-2 and B.1.1.7 variant are conjugated to FAM, while the TaqMan® probe for RNase P is conjugated to Cy5 or Yakima Yellow®. This enables multiplexed detection of either the consensus SARS-CoV-2 S gene or B.1.1.7 variant, and human RNase P, which serves as an internal control to validate proper sample collection, RNA extraction, and performance of the test. The 5X One-step Probe CoV Mix (ROX) reagent from Solis BioDyne includes a ROX passive reference dye with a unique molecular structure allowing our RT-qPCR test to be compatible with all ROX-dependent and ROX-independent real-time PCR cyclers.

One package of the kit is sufficient for 400 testing reactions and is intended to determine the B.1.1.7 variant in patient samples that tested SARS-CoV-2 positive in the primary test. It is recommended to run two parallel reactions to detect the presence of consensus SARS-CoV-2 S gene in one reaction and the B.1.1.7 variant in another one.