Chroma moves to 24-hour production of COVID-19 PCR test fluorescence filter

To help countries around the world increase testing for the COVID-19 virus, optical filters maker Chroma Technology (Bellows Falls, VT) has moved to three-shift, seven-days-a-week production of desperately needed optical filters required for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test systems.

Chroma has seen sharply increased demand from manufacturers of these qPCR and digital PCR systems, which are used to determine if patients are infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. In response, the company has placed its priority on the production of these filters, reshuffling manufacturing scheduling and capacity. 

Chroma’s ET Premium Sputtered filters for fluorescence applications, including their filters for PCR, provide levels of spectral precision that allow for minimizing the spectral overlap that is always present between fluorescent probes and optimizing the filter pass bands. The high degree of spectral precision ensures reproducible, reliable results, allowing for six or more distinct fluorescence channels. Coupled with high out-of-band blocking (≥OD6) and extremely steep transitions from high transmission to deep blocking, these filters are said to deliver the highest available signal-to-noise ratios. 

For more information, please visit chroma.com/polymerase-chain-reaction.

Source: Chroma Technology press release – May 11, 2020