In the Laboratory for Biological Analysis and References, we use microbiological and metrologically traceable molecular biological detection methods for the quantification of nucleic acids. We thus support the areas of laboratory medicine and food safety.

We are the point of contact and service provider for questions regarding the metrological traceability of nucleic acid tests. Our laboratory operates the two national reference laboratories for genetically modified organisms in food (NRL-GMOs) and for food-borne viruses (NRL-Viruses) and carries out molecular and microbiological analyses on an agency basis. Our work is part of intensive European and worldwide efforts to improve the comparability, measurement accuracy and traceability of biological and laboratory medicine measurements.

With our activities in the field of metrologically traceable nucleic acid tests, we are neither a controller nor a primary diagnostic provider. In the interests of the health of the Swiss population, we make our knowledge and experience available to the actors working in the laboratory sector.

We are committed to the continuous development of new analysis methods – and the improvement of existing ones – to ensure that we provide high-quality and efficient analytics. Our Laboratory for Biological Analysis and References and Chemical Tests and Consultancy department are both accredited to the SN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018 standard (accreditation number STS 0119).

In order to keep up with the latest technology and to further develop our measurement options, we continuously carry out research and development projects.