Frequently Asked
Questions

We use either DHL or FedEx for international shipping. Delivery should be within 3 weeks of placing an order or payment. You will receive a notification of an expected delivery date upon placement of the order. You will also receive a notification with the tracking number once the kit is shipped.

International orders are shipped via DHL or FedEx. Delivery is typically within 3 weeks of placing and paying for your order. You will receive an expected delivery date on placement and a tracking number once dispatched.

Kindly get in touch by emailing customerservice@isobiotech.com.au and our team will follow up with your courier on the status of your delivery.

Yes. IPA™ was specifically designed for near-patient and field use. The RapidDetector™ is a compact, portable device that fits in the palm of your hand. No lab infrastructure, no thermal cycling equipment, and no specialised facilities are required. You can run a full test wherever you are.

IPA™ is built on the same nucleic acid amplification principles as PCR, with sensitivity scalable based on primer selection. The system can detect down to a single copy of DNA with optimised primers. Every kit includes positive and negative controls to validate each run and confirm the reaction is performing correctly.

All ISOBiotech products are currently intended for research purposes only and are not approved for clinical diagnostic use in humans or animals. They are produced in an ISO 13485:2016 certified facility, meeting the highest international standards for medical device manufacturing.

The technology can be used between 37 and 42°C but it was optimised at 42°C for RapidDetector™. That is why the temperature of the device is pre-set for 42°C for 20 minutes.

No. The ingredients in the master mix were optimised specifically to denature and amplify nucleic acids. Adding additional ingredients will affect the performance and negatively change the IPA™ reaction. Also, the concentration of optimised ingredients will change, preventing IPA™ from working as originally designed.

No. Both primers should be added simultaneously to kick start the reaction immediately.

Yes, but if you get a smear (not a clean band) on the gel, it is likely from the master mix. Like PCR, you can clean your amplified products before running on the gel.

Yes. IPA™ is compatible with standard PCR forward and reverse primers, including already published ones. Primers between 18 and 35 bp work best. You don't need to redesign, re-validate or repurchase primers — simply add them to the IPA™ Master Mix alongside your sample or DNA/RNA template.

Like PCR, 18 bp works with IPA™ but up to 35 bp works as well. It is better to try 18 to 35 bp to determine what works best for your template, but longer primers increase IPA™ sensitivity. As with PCR, IPA™ is subject to primer-dimer formation. It is possible to have primers cross reacting and giving false positives if you do not have perfectly designed primers.

Yes, but it will depend on your sensitivity goal for your assay. For example, if you are interested in 1,000 copies per reaction, then most primer pairs will be sufficient. If your goal is high sensitivity, it is better to perform systematic screening of about 15 to 20 primer pairs. The more the primers are tested, the higher the chance of primer pairs that can detect one copy of DNA.

100 to 500 bp works better with IPA™ but 1,000 bp works too. It is important to try 100 to 1,000 bp to determine the best template size for your assay. However, the smaller the template size (100 to 200 bp) the better the sensitivity of IPA™.

Primer screening does not usually require a special purified oligonucleotide. Once the best primers are identified, it is better to use more purified primers if consistency is critical or required for your assay. Like in any other methods, batch-to-batch variations can affect the quality of primer synthesis and subsequently IPA™ reactions.

No, as IPA™ works at a constant temperature. Primer melting temperature is not a limiting factor in the reaction.

Yes, just like PCR. You can try 0.2 to 0.5 µM but 0.32 µM works better.

If your no-template control shows positive, it is mainly due to contamination, especially if the positive control primers in the kit display a false positive result when no template is added. Contamination can also occur if you are handling high copies of the template (10⁶/µl or above) in the same workspace.

Like PCR, it is recommended you have a separate pre- and post-amplification workspace and keep a sterile working environment. We suggest starting your IPA™ experiment using low quantities of template (e.g. 500 copies/µl).

To clear contamination, decontaminate workspaces with freshly prepared 10% bleach and use fresh master mix aliquots. You may need to repeat this bleach clean-up a few times before removing contamination completely.

Sometimes a small amount of precipitate can form at the bottom of the master mix. This will not affect IPA™ reactions. Vortex the tube to resuspend the precipitate before use.

There are a few things to check. First, confirm your primers are within the 18 to 35 bp range and were added simultaneously. Ensure the RapidDetector™ is set to 42°C and the incubation ran for the full 20 minutes. Check that no additional ingredients were added to the master mix. If your positive control also shows no amplification, the kit may have degraded — contact customerservice@isobiotech.com.au for support.

No problem. Kits are stable at ambient temperature for 2 to 3 weeks, making them suitable for international shipping and field deployment. You can run a control test on arrival to confirm performance. For long-term storage, keep at -20°C.

For long-term storage, IPA™ kits should be stored at -20°C. Kits are stable at ambient temperature for 2 to 3 weeks, making them suitable for field deployment without refrigeration for short periods.