Effort expands, expedites Ohio COVID-19 testing

Ohio State University researchers have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a process designed to expand and accelerate COVID-19 testing statewide.

In response to shortages of test kit components, including swabs and vials filled with a liquid called viral transport media (VTM), a team of Ohio State researchers created an in house recipe to make the VTM – a salt solution buffered in the way necessary to stabilize the virus.

“We’re fortunate to have the scientists and the resources at Ohio State’s seven health sciences colleges and across campus to create these vital materials and to be able to serve other hospital systems in Ohio and around the country that need them,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for Health Affairs at The Ohio State University and CEO of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. “This is what Buckeyes do. We collaborate to solve society’s biggest problems. We’re all in this together.”

The test kits use about one tablespoon of VTM. Researchers have created more than 100 liters of VTM -enough for up to 30,000 test kits.

“This has been a team effort across the medical center, university, and our colleagues across the state,” said Peter J. Mohler, vice dean of research at The Ohio State College of Medicine and director of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. “The coronavirus crisis has mobilized the scientific community, and I’m pleased to see how quickly we’re exchanging ideas of what works and what doesn’t work.”