[Applications of separation technology in novel coronavirus research, epidemic prevention and detection]

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has brought to light unprecedented challenges to global public health security. Researchers have devoted their efforts to in-depth research on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to bring the epidemic under control as rapidly as possible. Among the many areas of burgeoning SARS-CoV-2 related research, various analytical technologies have been applied to the advancement of virus detection, and development of vaccines and innovative therapies. Separation technologies with the merits of simple operation, high separation efficiency, and high selectivity, have become widely used and are key to progress in life science, medicine, pharmaceutical discovery and development, and other fields. Separation technologies have played an irreplaceable role in the isolation, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of this novel coronavirus. In this review, an overview of the relevant literature is presented from ISI Web of Science spanning Jan. 1st, 2020-Dec. 31, 2020, using "SARS-CoV-2" or "COVID-19" as keywords. The top 20 research directions are summarized, based on papers published in high impact international journals (e. g. Nature, Science, and Cell). Incorporating the impact of published papers, this review summarizes the primary separation technologies applied in these coronavirus studies, and discusses contributions of the following six technologies: affinity chromatography and size exclusion chromatography, liquid chromatography, magnetic bead separation technology, centrifugal technology, micro/nano-separation technology, and electrophoresis. First, affinity chromatography and size exclusion chromatography are discussed, which are the most frequently used protein purification techniques in Nature, Science, and Cell. The SARS-CoV-2 related proteins purified by affinity chromatography and size exclusion chromatography are summarized, and their applications in coronavirus transmission, infection mechanisms, and drug screening are introduced. Subsequently, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is introduced, which is mainly employed for assessing the purity of candidate drugs. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) incorporates the strengths of HPLC and MS, offering both high separation efficiency and structural analysis capabilities with extended applications. LC-MS/MS has been applied to characterization of the binding of SARS-CoV-2 related proteins to potential inhibitors, and to metabolic analyses of candidate drugs. In SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests, magnetic bead separation technology plays a crucial role in the separation of novel coronaviruses. In combination with other analytical techniques, magnetic bead separation technology can be applied to cytological analyses and immunological detection by functionalization of bead surfaces. Centrifugal technology is undoubtedly the most basic separation technology. It has been employed in almost all SARS-CoV-2 related researches. By controlling centrifugation speed, centrifugal technology can rapidly isolate virus particles or cultured cells from complex samples. Micro-nano separation technologies, such as microfluidics, offer advantages including small size, low sample consumption, rapid diffusion, and large surface area. In general, microfluidic technologies are often used in combination with other technologies to realize highly sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 related proteins. Finally, the applications of electrophoresis are introduced, which commonly engages in the analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. In novel coronavirus studies, the application of electrophoresis has been relatively limited but has potential with further development to contribute significantly to future research. In conclusion, this review summarizes the contributions of six primary separation technologies to novel coronavirus studies, including epidemic detection and prevention, analyzes the main problems facing coronavirus detection efforts, and discusses the role of separation technologies in addressing these problems, with the aim of providing references for broader application of separation technologies.