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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, as a molecular detection method, has been widely used and commercialized in the field of medical point-of-care-testing (POCT) in the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic further boosted the technology and various PCR-based systems for SARS-CoV-2 testing entered the market and testing speed as well as testing costs where continuously improved. A key enabler have been significant advances in microfluidic technologies.

Today, POCT PCR for diagnostic applications is a mature technology and the industrial learning curve steadily delivers cost-savings in consumables manufacturing in improvements in test performance and robustness. Consequently the technology is now ready to reach out for applications outside of medicine, where the identification of microbiological contaminants is required, such as the detection legionella in water or salmonella in food. For several needs in industrial microbiological detection, lab-based PCR methods are already introduced and acceptance is increasing, as the time-to-result is extremely short in comparison to the traditional culturing method. So there is a clear trend that PCR will be accepted as a detection standard in addition to the traditional culture method.

Therefore, the next step in technological development and innovation would be to provide PCR-based POCT technologies also for industrial microbiological detection. What technical gaps need to be filled? What are the special testing needs of these fields? Let's explore together in this webinar.