Malaysian researchers innovate vaccine and medicine manufacturing
A team of academic researchers in Malaysia has developed a new method for purifying recombinant virus-like particles (VLPs) produced in bacterial cells, potentially simplifying and reducing the cost of producing essential vaccines and medicines.
The research team includes Dr. Lee Khai Wooi and Dr. Ng Jeck Fei, lecturers from Taylor’s University’s School of Biosciences and School of Pharmacy, Taylor’s PhD graduate Dr. Tan Foo Hou, and Universiti Putra Malaysia academic Associate Professor Dr. Noorjahan Banu Mohammed Alitheen.
VLPs, derived from viruses but lacking harmful genetic material, are valuable for training the immune system to combat infections. They can also be modified to deliver drugs and genes directly into cells. However, producing VLPs in cells like Escherichia coli (E. coli) often results in a mix of VLPs and unwanted cellular proteins that require separation, usually through costly and time-consuming methods like chromatography.
Dr. Lee explains, “Instead of using expensive immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography columns, we explored a simpler technique using free metal ions to capture histagged VLPs and precipitate them. His-tags are small handles that latch onto the free metal ions, holding the VLPs together.”
The team found that adding free transition metal ions such as nickel, iron, zinc, copper, cobalt, or calcium caused the his-tags to cluster, forming VLP clumps that could easily be separated from unwanted proteins based on size.
One challenge the researchers faced was visualizing the structural binding of metal ions with histags, given the complexity of the protein clumps. They are now examining this interaction using isothermal calorimetry.
After testing the method on the turnip yellow mosaic virus, commonly found in plants like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, the team aims to apply the technique, named “MetalTag VLP Master,” to other VLP systems and scale it up for industrial production. The method eliminates the need for chromatography columns, reducing both costs and processing time by using a centrifuge, a standard piece of equipment in labs and industries.
“We are currently filing a patent for the MetalTag VLP Master method,” said Dr. Lee. “Our hope is that if adapted for biopharmaceutical production, this method could lead to more affordable vaccines and medicines for consumers by optimizing the manufacturing process.”
Category: MJN enews
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