Mass spectrometry shows potential for fast SARS-CoV-2 recognition

Overview

• Post By : Kumar Jeetendra


• Source: Frédéric Joliot Institute for Life Sciences


• Date: 10 Aug,2020

A team from SPI in Marcoule discovered by mass spectrometry, in just 3 minutes and without specific reagents, signature peptides of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in clinical samples (nasopharyngeal swabs). It hence gives a proof of concept concerning the usage of the technique as a potential option to PCR, now the reference process.

Quick but nonetheless sensitive, specific and high-throughput discovery of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in clinical trials is critical to diagnose infected individuals and also to better manage the spread of this virus. Alternative methodologies to PCR and immunodiagnostic that would not require certain reagents are not worth to investigate not only for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to discover other emergent pathogenic dangers.

In the present study, scientists in SPI (Marcoule) propose the use of tandem mass spectrometry to detect SARS-CoV-2 marker peptides in nasopharyngeal swabs. They recorded that the sign from the microbiota within such samples is low and can be overlooked when translating shotgun proteomic data obtained on a restricted window of the peptidome landscape.

Within this proof of concept research, simili nasopharyngeal swabs compromised with unique amounts of purified SARS-CoV-2 viral material had been used to create a nanoLC-MS/MS acquisition method, which was subsequently successfully implemented to COVID-19 clinical trials. Researchers assert that two peptides in the nucleocapsid protein are of extreme attention as their signal is intense and their elution can be gotten within a 3 minute window at the tested conditions.

These effects pave the way for the progression of implements viral diagnostic evaluations based on mass spectrometry.