UK Manufacture of Key Reagents for RT-PCR Testing

核苷和核苷酸是DNA和RNA的组成部分，在DNA复制，转录和翻译中起着关键作用，而它们的化学构成了合成和生物化学家的一个充满活力的研究领域。它们仍然是最富有成效的药物类别之一，核苷为英国使用的约50%的抗病毒药物和20%的抗癌药物提供关键结构成分。它们的（多）磷酸化核苷酸对应物可用作化学生物学和测序技术的关键工具，最重要的是，可用作检测病毒感染的基本PCR检测的基础试剂。为了提高英国检测新冠病毒等病毒感染的能力，需要建立一个强大的检测试剂盒关键组件供应链。由于目前使用的dNTP来源于海外，因此推出国家测试的部分延迟可能取决于此类材料的可用性和进口。通过这个项目，我们建议在严格的质量保证协议下提供可靠和强大的制造工艺，用于在英国进行PCR测试的高质量dNTP。这将不可避免地减轻未来任何新型冠状病毒大流行的医疗、社会和经济影响。

Nucleosides and nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and RNA and play a pivotal role in DNA replication, transcription and translation, whilst their chemistry constitutes a vibrant field of research for both synthetic and biological chemists. They remain one of the most fruitful drug classes, with nucleosides providing keys structural components for about 50% of antiviral drugs and 20% of anticancer drugs used in the UK. Their (poly)phosphorylated nucleotide counterparts can be used as critical tools for chemical biology and sequencing technologies and most importantly, act as base reagents for the essential PCR test used in the detection of viral infections.In order to increase the UK's capacity for testing of viral infections such as Covid-19, there needs to be a robust supply chain of key components that go into the test kits. Since the dNTP's that are used are currently sourced from overseas, part of the delay in rolling out national testing may hinge upon the availability and import of such materials. Through this project, we propose to deliver a reliable and robust manufacturing process under strict quality assurance protocols for high-quality dNTPs that can be used for the PCR test, within the UK. This will inevitably mitigate the medical, societal and economic effects of any future Covid-19-type pandemics.