When the epidemic is waiting for an opportunity again, to quickly control the spread of the virus, nucleic acid testing has become the only way to go, and it has also attracted attention from all walks of life. However, there are many factors that affect the results of nucleic acid testing, including sample collection location, collection method, storage and transportation process, nucleic acid extraction operation, and so on. Among them, the stability of the sample is a key link. How to quickly inactivate the virus and protect the viral nucleic acid from being degraded, maintaining the stability of the virus sample storage solution has become a top priority.
Step 1: Break the shell and eliminate the "combat power"
Like other RNA viruses, the results of the new coronavirus are simply composed of a protein shell wrapped in single-stranded nucleic acid-RNA. We can simply think of the RNA of the virus as the "brain" that gives orders, and the protein is the "limbs" that execute orders. The new coronavirus infects the human body and reproduces and causes symptoms. This process is mainly completed by the biologically active protein structure outside the virus.
The inactivated virus preservation solution is mainly the virus modified by the nucleic acid extraction lysis solution; it is a powerful protein denaturant that can quickly dissolve the protein and cause the virus structure to be broken. When the clinical sample with the new coronavirus is mixed with the preservation solution, the virus in the sample is affected by the lysis solution, and the protein shell is quickly destroyed, and this damage is irreversible. At this time, the virus has lost its evil "minions" and no longer has the ability to infect people, thus ensuring the safety of contacts during sample transportation and processing.
Step 2: Inhibit enzyme activity and escort the "ID card"
After the shell is lysed, the RNA of the new coronavirus is free in the preservation solution. As a single-stranded macromolecule, the stability of RNA is not as immobile as double-stranded DNA. The RNase that exists everywhere in the natural environment is the culprit that causes RNA to hydrolyze and break. Therefore, it is generally considered that the viral RNA that has lost its outer shell protection is
In addition to the inactivated virus storage solution, the virus preservation solution produced by Desheng also has a non-inactivated virus storage solution. It retains the protein coat of the virus and the viral nucleic acid DNA or RNA at the same time, so that the virus has the integrity of the protein epitope and nucleic acid in vitro. Of course, there is a certain risk of infectivity when operating errors. Long-term storage after sampling needs to keep strictly low temperature. Regardless of the virus preservation solution, we need to strictly operate, store or transport in accordance with the requirements when using it.
