Virus preservation solution is particularly important in the process of virus nucleic acid testing. It is impossible to test samples immediately after collection, and we may encounter various problems in between, such as transporting or mailing specimens to other places, or too many samples to be tested on time, etc. Virus preservation solution plays a considerable role at this time. Virus preservation solution is divided into inactivated and non-inactivated types, so we generally choose which is better?
1. Inactivation: Viruses and bacteria lose their infectivity after the action of chemical factors, called inactivation. Most viruses are more easily inactivated than bacteria. This also makes the long-term preservation of viruses usually more difficult than the preservation of bacteria. In fact, most viruses are resistant to cold but not heat, and are unstable to heat. 55-60°C, usually within minutes, denatures the capsid protein of the virus, rendering the virus incompetent to infect. This may be because at this point the virus has lost its ability to adsorb and/or decapacitate normal cells. Viruses have the disadvantage of not being easily preserved and easily infected, but inactivated virus preservation solution solves this disadvantage perfectly.
The main purpose of Tris, lysis salt, EDTA, etc. is to lyse nucleic acids and release them for subsequent nucleic acid detection by real-time fluorescence RT-PCR to determine whether the sample contains the characteristic nucleic acids of the virus, i.e. whether it is infected with the virus. It is easy to use and does not require any preparation. It is easy to operate without liquid preparation and contains high efficiency virus lysis solution, which inactivates the virus immediately after sampling and effectively prevents the risk of secondary infection. The product can be stored at room temperature for 12 months before sampling and one week after sampling, which is airtight and convenient for storage and transportation, saving transportation costs. Contains Rnase inhibitor to protect the virus nucleic acid from degradation and improve the efficiency of nucleic acid extraction.
2、Non-inactivated: It does not contain lysis salt, but the integrity of the preserved virus is better and the detection rate is higher, so it can be used for other research besides nucleic acid detection. Non-inactivated virus preservation solution has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effects; bovine serum albumin (BSA), as a protein stabilizer, can form a protective film in the protein shell of the virus, making it less prone to decomposition and ensuring the integrity of the virus; Hanks buffer buffer builds a neutral environment that helps increase the survival time and infection stability of the virus. Non-inactivated virus preservation solution is usually used for the collection and transport of virus specimens for clinical influenza, avian influenza (e.g. H7N9), hand, foot and mouth disease, measles, and mycoplasma, ureaplasma, chlamydia, etc.
From the above information, it can be seen that both virus preservation solution has its own advantages and disadvantages, the main advantage of inactivated virus preservation solution is convenient, fast, safe, the disadvantage is the low detection rate; non-inactivated type of the main advantage is the high detection rate, the disadvantage is a certain risk of infection, the testing institutions can choose according to their specific testing needs at their discretion.
From the above information, we can see that both virus preservation solution has its own advantages and disadvantages, the main advantage of inactivated virus preservation solution is convenient, fast, safe, the disadvantage is the low detection rate; non-inactivated type of the main advantage is the detection rate is high, the disadvantage is a certain risk of infection, the testing institutions can choose according to their specific testing needs at their discretion.
