Special Report: Concentration and Purification of Infectious Viruses
Overview
Modern virology uses a growing number of applications to understand these agents of disease. Such applications range from transfection of cells for genetic manipulation to medical studies with a strategic focus on developing novel vaccines, treatments, and gene therapies. Assessment of virus is also important for ensuring food and drinking water safety as well as for surveillance of pathogens and disease outbreaks.
During the preparation, handling, and analysis of viruses, a concentration and/or purification step is often required. In this report, we highlight applications where potentially infectious viruses were concentrated or purified in medical research, water- and food-safety testing, and disease surveillance applications. We also include guidance on the optimal device type(s) and membrane molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) for each ultrafiltration process.
Topics Covered:
- Concentration of viruses by ultrafiltration is mostly independent of the chemical properties and structure of the virus particle.
- Because viruses are typically several orders of magnitude bigger than the largest protein complexes, most viruses are retained by ≤1,000-kDa MWCO membranes.
- Unless standardized methods have been developed for an application, you must test multiple MWCOs to suit each virus species and application.