Ecopetrol / ICP: LAB MAX PCR Mobile PCR Biosafety Laboratory

The National Government required an immediate scientific-sovereignty solution to transfer ultrasensitive molecular diagnostic technology from static urban laboratories directly to Ecopetrol’s most remote areas of influence, such as the Magdalena Medio region, radically reducing epidemiological response times.

The challenge was to control vibration exposure on unpaved rural off-road routes to prevent loss of calibration in sophisticated analytical equipment, while guaranteeing the strictest international levels of biological containment in an autonomous mobile space.

We designed and manufactured the first mobile PCR biosafety laboratory in the Americas, incorporating an exclusive five-level damping and suspension system, international Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) standards, and an industrial negative-pressure single-pass HVAC system that ensures absolute internal environmental purity for operators and samples. We reduced patient travel time from 12 hours to zero and official result turnaround from five days to under 24 hours, with processing capacity of 90 to 110 tests per day.

This scientific milestone was validated, praised and showcased to the country on national television by the highest authorities of the National Government: the ICP Director, the President of Ecopetrol and the Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Marta Lucía Ramírez, who confirmed its value for the nation’s strategic epidemiological control.