Researchers hope to catch viruses for detection and vaccinations by understanding their sticky outer layers. The complex structures making the surface of a virus are small weaves of proteins that make a big impact on how a virus interacts with cells and its environment. A slight change in protein sequence makes this surface slightly water-repelling, or hydrophobic, causing it to stick to other hydrophobic surfaces. A new paper, published recently in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, details surface hydrophobicity in porcine parovirus (PPV).
Vaccine purification currently requires expensive nanofilters; the sticky outer layers of viruses like porcine parovirus (PPV) can be used to make viruses clump and easier to remove. Courtesy of Sarah Bird, Michigan Tech
Researchers hope to catch viruses for detection and vaccinations by understanding their sticky outer layers. The complex structures making the surface of a virus are small weaves of proteins that make a big impact on how a virus interacts with cells and its environment. A slight change in protein sequence makes this surface slightly water-repelling, or hydrophobic, causing it to stick to other hydrophobic surfaces. A new paper, published recently in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, details surface hydrophobicity in porcine parovirus (PPV).
Caryn Heldt, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Technological University, is the paper's lead author. Currently, she is on sabbatical in St. Louis working with Pfizer to better understand how surface hydrophobicity could be used to improve vaccination production.
"Vaccine purification is all about surface interactions; if the components break apart, then they cannot be used as a therapeutic," Heldt says, adding that sensing and removing viruses also depend on surface interactions. "This may also help biologists understand a virus' interactions with a cell."
The main finding in this paper is that Heldt and her team compared experimental methods with computational methods to measure the surface chemistry.
Because virus hydrophobicity is relatively new and difficult to measure, Heldt's team focused on using hydrophobicity models as a comparison. They compared the expected hydrophobicity measurements based on the main protein from the virus, the non-enveloped PPV, to well-studied model proteins that span a range of repelling or attracting water. Then they analyzed the samples using two kinds of chromatography--the analysis of chemical mixtures--along with fluorescent dyes that illuminate sticky, hydrophobic patches on the proteins.
The key is that the measurements focus on what's easy to reach. These locations are part of what's called a crystal structure's solvent accessible surface area. Narrowing down the observed area in an experiment helped the team measure hydrophobicity.
"The entire virus capsid is too large of a complex to do these calculations," Heldt says, explaining the capsid is an outside shell made of 60 copies of similar proteins--VP1, VP2, VP3--and her team tested the exposed parts of VP2, which is the most abundant. "It was interesting that we were still able to correlate our solvent exposed surface area calculations with the experimental results because we were only using this one protein."
The strong correlation between the computational and experimental results indicates that PPV--and likely other viruses--have a measurable hydrophobicity. Once the measurements are better understood, then Heldt and other researchers can better catch viruses. Doing so can improve detecting viruses, concentrating them and purifying vaccines.
Source: Michigan Technological University
Dear Helpdesk: Working in a Toxic Health Care Environment
March 28th 2024Dear Helpdesk is your steadfast companion, offering life coaching and workplace advice from 2 seasoned IPs for some of your most challenging real-life situations. Let us help you navigate the intersection between work and life, guiding you to navigate the dynamic world of infection prevention with confidence and grace. This article is on handling a toxic health care environment.
Product Locator: Spring and Early Mother's Day Gift Guide for Infection Prevention Personnel
March 27th 2024Whether it's a spring holiday, birthdays, or no reason at all, infection prevention personnel love to give and receive gifts that help at the end of a stressful day. Infection Control Today® offers some gift ideas for infection prevention personnel and their families.
Catching Up With Vangie Dennis, AORN 2022-2023 President at AORN 2024
March 26th 2024Infection Control Today (ICT) had the privilege of catching up with Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO, at the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses' (AORN’s) International Surgical Conference & Expo 2024. As the former president of AORN and an esteemed figure in perioperative services, Vangie Dennis shared insights into her recent endeavors and the exciting new chapter she's embarked upon.
How To Optimize Your Time Management Strategies for the Busy Infection Preventionist
March 25th 2024Is your calendar resembling a chaotic masterpiece of overlapping tasks? Join the club of infection preventionists striving to balance responsibilities. Dive into proven strategies from a fellow infection preventionist to reclaim control of your time, streamline tasks, and boost productivity effectively. This is an IP Lifeline article.