Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 27, 2025
09:26
Production of a SARS-CoV-2 Virus-Like-Particle System to Investigate Viral Life Cycles In Vitro
Published on: June 6, 2025
600
SARS-CoV-2 Production, Purification Methods and UV Inactivation for Proteomics and Structural Studies
Zlatka Plavec1,2, Aušra Domanska1,2, Xiaonan Liu2
1Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00790 Helsinki, Finland.
Viruses
|September 23, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed rapid purification and UV inactivation methods for SARS-CoV-2. The Capto Core resin offers a faster, safer alternative to traditional methods for handling the COVID-19 virus.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Biotechnology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19, leading to significant global mortality.
- The pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 necessitates handling in high-containment laboratories, complicating downstream applications.
- Efficient and safe virus purification and inactivation are crucial for research and diagnostics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate rapid purification methods for SARS-CoV-2.
- To establish an effective UV inactivation protocol for safe handling of purified virus.
- To provide a simplified workflow for downstream applications like cryo-electron microscopy.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of two purification techniques: sucrose cushion pelleting and size exclusion chromatography using Capto Core resin.
- Optimization of ultraviolet (UV) light dosage for virus inactivation.
- Analysis of purification efficiency and virus integrity using titering, sequencing, mass spectrometry, and cryo-electron microscopy.
Main Results:
- Capto Core resin purification was seven times faster than sucrose cushion pelleting and eliminated the need for ultracentrifugation.
- While sucrose cushion yielded higher particle recovery, Capto Core provided better purity.
- Optimized UV inactivation effectively rendered the virus non-infectious, allowing for standard laboratory handling.
Conclusions:
- Capto Core resin offers a rapid, efficient, and safer alternative for SARS-CoV-2 purification compared to traditional methods.
- UV inactivation is a reliable method for deactivating SARS-CoV-2, enabling safe downstream processing.
- The combined Capto Core and UV inactivation workflow is recommended for limited-containment laboratory settings, facilitating experiments such as cryo-electron microscopy.
