The Analytical Scientist / Issues / 2020 / Jun / Joining the Fight
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Joining the Fight

Analytical science’s journey towards effective COVID-19 testing and treatment

By Matt Hallam 06/15/2020 1 min read

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Merlin Breuning (Notre Dame) and Jacqueline Linnes (Purdue) are working with their teams to develop methods for rapidly quantifying the COVID-19 immune response using novel lateral flow assay devices. The proposed devices will give high sensitivity and semiquantitative measurement of antibody levels. Why? To give inexpensive, point-of-care tests that make use of innovative membrane immobilization technology and thin-strip, microfluidic diagnostic devices.


The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is taking a three-pronged approach to supporting the fight against COVID-19: validation of serological tests, discovery of genetic elements of disease susceptibility, and screening of covalent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 proteinases (1). Their testing validation initiative – coordinated with the FDA, CDC and NIAID, as well as several academic centers – aims to supercharge serological testing, a crucial tool for identifying those who have been infected.


Researchers from Utrecht University, the Erasmus Medical Center, and Harbour BioMed have identified a human monoclonal antibody (47D11) capable of preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection of cultured cells (2). How? By targeting the S1B receptor-binding domain of the trimeric spike glycoproteins that mediate viral cell infiltration. The observation of cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV – a spike protein with 77.5 percent amino acid sequence similarity – indicates 47D11 targeting of a conserved domain, which may offer a route to treating COVID-19…


The team of David Clemmer and Martin Jarrold are employing charge-detection MS (CDMS) and ion-mobility MS (IMS) to explore the structure of developmental COVID-19 vaccines and therapies. It is hoped that these tools will allow direct-mass measurement of inactivated viruses, as well as “dummy” virus particles, bioconjugates containing immunogens, antibody-antigen complexes, and other targets. CDMS in particular should allow researchers across academia, industry and government to rapidly address challenging measurement issues encountered in the race to produce a vaccine.
 

References

  1. National Cancer Institute (2020). Available at: https://bit.ly/35TPLFb
  2. C Wang et al., Nat Commun, 11, 2251 (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16256-y

About the Author(s)

Matt Hallam

I've always wanted a job that fosters creativity - even when I worked on the assembly line in a fish factory. Outside work, I satisfy this need by writing questionable fiction. The venture into science writing was an unexpected departure from this fiction, but I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to combine my creative side with my scientific mind as Editor of The Analytical Scientist.

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