Originally Aired: February 28, 2022
Time: 8:00 am PT, 11:00 am ET, 17:00 CET
In this Learning Lab we will discuss some common methods used to measure viral titers and considerations one should bear in mind when interpreting the results from different assays used to quantify virus particles.
Along with all things virology, the recent pandemic has led to focused interest in the accurate quantification of viruses in cell and tissue samples. However, quantifying viruses is a routine and necessary assay for researchers studying infectious disease, pathogenesis, vaccine development, cell and gene therapy and well and basic biology. For instance, cellular models with a specific gene or a set of genes over-expressed, under-expressed or not expressed altogether are developed routinely in labs by infecting cells with constitutive or inducible lentivirus vectors. Determining the virus titer before infecting cells allows researchers to control the number of virus particles added per cell during infection. Various methods are used to measure viral titers. Virus titers can be functional (infectious) or physical and are measured in viral particles per unit volume. There are various commercially available kits that measure virus titers based on different principles and are best suited for specific downstream applications, such as antibody neutralization, ELISA-based neutralization, antiviral therapeutic discovery, cytopathic effect (CPE), or lentiviral transduction for gene or cell therapy. The traditional measurement of viral titers is laborious, subjective and the data points are often limited due to manual experimentation.
A live Q&A session followed the presentation, offering a chance to pose questions to our expert panelist.
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