Xpedite Diagnostics Hosts Global Isothermal NAAT Masterclass on Portable Molecular Diagnostics

Xpedite Diagnostics hosted a focused isothermal NAAT masterclass featuring experts from the University of Marburg and Xpedite’s R&D team. The session demonstrated how rapid RAA/RT-RAA and duplex assays can deliver fast, portable molecular diagnostics for field and point-of-care applications.

   
Xpedite Diagnostics brought together experts from the University of Marburg and its in-house R&D team for a technical masterclass on RAA/RPA assay design, highlighting how isothermal amplification is reshaping rapid, portable molecular diagnostics for field and point-of-care settings.

Fast, Field-Ready Assay Design

Dr. Till Adhikary opened the session with a practical walkthrough of RT-RAA workflows for RNA virus detection. Drawing on his COVID-19 assay development experience, he demonstrated how primer length, probe design, and recombinase activity drive fast amplification at body-temperature ranges. His optimized RT-RAA assays delivered clear results within 15 minutes, demonstrating how low-temperature amplification can support decentralized testing.

Duplex RAA for Schistosoma Detection

Xpedite’s Ejona Gjika presented the development of a duplex RAA assay for Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium. After identifying performance limits in published singleplex assays, the team adapted the SM1-7 genomic repeat into an RAA-compatible format, achieving sensitivity down to 120 copies in 10 minutes. Validation against qPCR and microscopy confirmed strong correlation and field applicability.

Building the Portable Diagnostics Ecosystem

The speakers showcased Xpedite’s integrated isothermal toolkit, from SwiftX™ extraction and Ketian reagents to steel-bead auto-mixing and the Axon Reader, enabling fully portable workflows for environmental surveillance, parasitology, and infectious disease diagnostics.

As the session highlighted, isothermal NAATs now offer a fast, sensitive, infrastructure-light alternative to PCR—, bringing molecular diagnostics closer to where they’re needed most.

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