Acquisition of an Agilent 4150 TapeStation for Nucleic Acid Quality Assessment at the Kansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory - PROJECT SUMMARY The Kansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (KVDL) is an AAVLD-accredited FDA/CVM Vet-LIRN member laboratory that processes a high volume of bovine, equine, and small-animal submissions in Kansas and the Great Plains region, supporting molecular diagnostics for regulatory and surveillance needs. A critical gap in KVDL's infrastructure is the absence of an automated, quantitative nucleic acid quality analysis platform. KVDL currently uses an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer for NGS quality control, but this discontinued, low- throughput, manually intensive platform does not adequately assess RNA and DNA integrity, creating a bottleneck for downstream PCR- and next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based diagnostics. This equipment- only Vet-LIRN capacity-building project requests an Agilent 4150 TapeStation System to provide automated, reproducible assessment of RNA integrity (RIN/RQN), DNA integrity (DIN), and nucleic acid fragment-size distribution across KVDL's molecular caseload and to standardize pre-analytical quality control workflows. The specific aims are to: (1) acquire, install, and validate the TapeStation for RNA and DNA quality assessment at KVDL; (2) establish nucleic acid quality benchmarks across major bovine submission types and integrate TapeStation-based quality control into routine molecular diagnostics; and (3) implement TapeStation- informed NGS library quality control criteria and decision rules to reduce assay failures and improve data yield in Vet-LIRN–relevant testing. Nucleic acid quality is a key pre-analytical variable in molecular diagnostics, and degraded RNA or fragmented DNA cause false-negative PCR results, failed NGS libraries, and poor-quality sequencing data that undermine diagnostic accuracy and regulatory reporting. The Agilent 4150 TapeStation will provide objective, archived, digitally traceable integrity data integrated into KVDL's quality management system and aligned with Vet-LIRN data quality standards, improving the reliability of results supporting antimicrobial resistance surveillance, zoonotic and emerging pathogen detection, and outbreak investigations coordinated with FDA/CVM. Dr. Kim will lead instrument validation and workflow development, and Dr. Retallick (KVDL Director) will ensure operational integration into KVDL's diagnostic workflow. Over one year, activities will include instrument procurement, installation, validation, nucleic acid quality benchmarking, and implementation of TapeStation- informed NGS library quality control criteria and decision rules in routine Vet-LIRN–relevant diagnostic workflows, strengthening KVDL's role within the Vet-LIRN network and its capacity to respond rapidly and reliably to emerging animal disease events of regulatory significance.
