Effects of Storage Temperature and Media/Buffer for SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Detection.

Objectives: The increase in the number of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has delayed real-time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), requiring proper shipping and storage conditions, especially in hot weather. This study aims to assess how some conditions, such as storage period, temperature, media or buffer, and sample types, affect the results of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RT-qPCR.

Methods: SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens were collected from Boramae Medical Center for 2 months (from May to June 2020) and stored in different media or buffers at different temperatures.