Electrophoretic fingerprinting of HIV/AIDS virus – another first for the Malvern Zetasizer Nano

In a programme of work to investigate the potential for development of a topical microbicide against the HIV/AIDS virus, researchers at the International Partnership for Microbicides at St George’s Hospital Medical School in London, UK, have used a Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS in the production of the first ever electrophoretic fingerprints to be used in this area of research.

The team’s groundbreaking research, first reports of which have now been published in the American Chemical Society’s Langmuir journal - involves the study of bulk surface characteristics of the AIDS virus target CD4+ T-cells. Their initial aim is to investigate the possibility of using charge-dependent inhibition of viral attachment to its target CD4+ T-cells as the basis for microbicide development. Such an approach has the appeal of ‘stopping’ the virus before it can enter host cells.

The Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS is being used to characterize the zeta potential of CD4+ T cells over a range of conditions relevant for microbial infection. Measurements are made with the system using a second generation phase analysis light scattering method (M3-PALS), and equipped with an MPT-2 automatic titrator. The addition of the autotitrator was found to dramatically improve the rate of data acquisition.

According to the researchers, the advent of PALS and the availability of a commercial instrument based on the technique, served to remove the severe technical difficulties they would otherwise have had in obtaining reliable data in physiological environments.

An abstract of the recent publication can be accessed via the ACS Langmuir website http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/langd5/2005/21/i22/abs/la050619k.html

The full reference is: Langmuir, 21 (22), 10165 -10171, 2005 Microbicides for HIV/AIDS. 1. Electrophoretic Fingerprinting the H9 Cell Model System. R. L. Rowell, D. Fairhurst, S. Key, A. Morfesis, I. M. Monahan, M. Mitchnick, and R. A. Shattock.