Film Technology Protects COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Strips

The QuickVue® SARS Antigen test is a point-of-care rapid antigen test developed by Quidel^® Corporation, a leading manufacturer of diagnostic healthcare solutions, that delivers test results in 10 minutes. The new rapid diagnostic received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. FDA in late Dec. 2020.

The visually read test requires no supplemental instrumentation and offers expanded access to affordable and accurate COVID-19 testing that will help meet the urgent testing needs of the global economy, including for those in school systems and rural areas.

To protect the kit against moisture and other environmental conditions that could impact accuracy, the company integrated Aptar CSP Technologies’ Activ-Film™ technology. As Aptar reports, “Activ-Film leverages Aptar’s proprietary 3-Phase Activ-Polymer™ technology, which provides a broad spectrum of custom-engineered protection in a variety of configurations, such as Activ-Vial™ for housing diagnostics dipsticks and Activ-Tab integrated within diagnostic cassettes.”

The active packaging technology is currently used to protect a range of electrochemical, lateral flow, and molecular diagnostic test kits on the market today. The company also offers systems to protect drug delivery solutions and consumer products.