Characterization of Virus&VLPs
Viruses, though parasitic, are highly biocompatible, stable, and easy to produce—making them ideal tools in gene therapy, vaccine development, and biomedical research.
The Nanocoulter™ Single-Particle Analyzer enables accurate detection of viral particles, providing key metrics including titer, size distribution, zeta potential, and aggregation state—all in a single test.Compatible with lentivirus, adenovirus, AAV, and retrovirus, Nanocoulter™ offers:
- 1 nm resolution
- Multiparameter readout (size, concentration, charge)
- Fast, reproducible results across R&D and manufacturing
Accelerate your viral vector development with real-time, high-resolution data at every stage—from research to QC.
Batch-to-Batch Quality Control in Adenovirus Production
Cell culture conditions, including medium composition, temperature, and pH, influence adenovirus production efficiency. NanoCoulter™ enables real-time monitoring of virus concentration, size distribution, and Zeta potential, facilitating rapid batch assessment and process optimization.
Quantifying Lentivirus Purification Efficiency with Single-Particle Precision
Lentivirus purification involves multiple steps such as centrifugation, filtration, ion exchange, and ultrafiltration, each potentially leading to particle loss. The data below, obtained using Nanocoulter™, clearly reveals changes in particle size and concentration before and after purification—providing a powerful tool to evaluate purification efficiency and support process development.
Optimizing Lentivirus Harvest Timing with Real-Time Monitoring
Lentiviral particles are typically harvested from the culture supernatant after a defined incubation period, with the option to continue harvesting through feed strategies. Maximizing viral yield requires accurate, real-time monitoring to guide process development.
Nanocoulter™ enables continuous tracking of viral particle production over time, helping identify the optimal harvest window. In the study below, results show that 50 hours post-inoculation yields the highest viral concentration—offering a data-driven basis for harvest optimization.
Poxvirus Particle Aggregation Analysis
The storage conditions of viruses have a significant impact on their degree of aggregation. Excessive aggregation can reduce the infectivity of the virus. The NanoCoulterTM possesses extremely high particle size resolution and is the only technology besides electron microscopy capable of accurately analyzing virus aggregation. In the distribution plots of poxvirus particles under two different storage conditions shown below, the virus particles under Condition 2 exhibit significantly better dispersion.
The storage conditions of viruses have a significant impact on their degree of aggregation. Excessive aggregation can reduce the infectivity of the virus. The NanoCoulterTM possesses extremely high particle size resolution and is the only technology besides electron microscopy capable of accurately analyzing virus aggregation. In the distribution plots of poxvirus particles under two different storage conditions shown below, the virus particles under Condition 2 exhibit significantly better dispersion.
Quantification of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) Particle Concentration
In addition to infectious titer, parameters such as physical titer (total particle concentration), particle size and distribution, purity, particle integrity, and aggregation status are also essential critical quality attributes for AAV gene therapy drug products. The NanoCoulter™ overcomes industry barriers, achieving single-particle nanoscale characterization for particles below 20 nm for the first time. It is particularly well-suited for high-sensitivity particle size analysis and high-precision concentration quantification of small viruses such as AAV.
Three typical patterns of particle size distribution were observed for AAV samples:
Sample #1: A relatively broad normal distribution with evidence of particle aggregation.
Sample #2: Two distinct normal distribution peaks, with large-particle impurities potentially indicating Oligomer or residues from upstream processing.
Sample #3: A relatively narrow normal distribution, consistent with the typical size distribution of AAV.
The NanoCoulter™ enables precise quantification of total AAV particle concentration, demonstrating a linear calibration curve with R² = 0.999.
