Award Abstract # 2026657
RAPID: PHYSICS OF CORONAVIRUS SARS-COV-2 SURVIVAL OUTSIDE A HOST AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SEASONAL DEPENDENCE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAKS

NSF Org: PHY
Division Of Physics
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
Initial Amendment Date: March 17, 2020
Latest Amendment Date: June 10, 2020
Award Number: 2026657
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Krastan Blagoev
kblagoev@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4666
PHY
 Division Of Physics
MPS
 Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Start Date: April 1, 2020
End Date: March 31, 2022 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $199,571.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $238,975.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2020 = $238,975.00
History of Investigator:
  • Michael Vershinin (Principal Investigator)
    vershinin@physics.utah.edu
  • Saveez Saffarian (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Utah
201 PRESIDENTS CIR
SALT LAKE CITY
UT  US  84112-9049
(801)581-6903
Sponsor Congressional District: 01
Primary Place of Performance: University of Utah
75 South 200 East
SALT LAKE CITY
UT  US  84112-8930
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
01
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): LL8GLEVH6MG3
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC,
PHYSICS OF LIVING SYSTEMS
Primary Program Source: 01002021DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 096Z, 7237, 7914
Program Element Code(s): 125300, 724600
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.049

ABSTRACT

There is currently a lack of information on SARS-Cov-2 particle stability in varied environmental conditions. This project will create mechanistic insight which will estimate the persistence of infectious particles and is critical for predictions of viral spread as well as informing public health. Two graduate students will collaborate during these experiments. This work will form a substantial part of the graduate thesis for these students. Measurements of structural limits of viral particles using atomic force microscopy and holographic optical tweezers will also inform our general knowledge of the viral envelope stability as applied to other enveloped viruses.

The COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) virus poses an acute and novel public health crisis. The knowledge gained from the proposed work will immediately inform the projections of viral survivability under various environmental conditions. The measurements will also establish complete and efficient workflow for handling SARS-CoV-2 particles with advanced optical trapping and atomic force microscopy techniques. The technical expertise gained will be valuable in case similar measurements would be required under the highest bio-safety environments (BL4 condition) with live virions.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Gourdelier, Manon and Swain, Jitendriya and Arone, Coline and Mouttou, Anita and Bracquemond, David and Merida, Peggy and Saffarian, Saveez and Lyonnais, Sébastien and Favard, Cyril and Muriaux, Delphine "Optimized production and fluorescent labeling of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles" Scientific Reports , v.12 , 2022 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18681-z Citation Details
Sharma, A. and Preece, B. and Swann, H. and Fan, X. and McKenney, R.J. and Ori-McKenney, K.M. and Saffarian, S. and Vershinin, M.D. "Structural stability of SARS-CoV-2 virus like particles degrades with temperature" Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications , v.534 , 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.11.080 Citation Details
Swann, Heather and Sharma, Abhimanyu and Preece, Benjamin and Peterson, Abby and Eldredge, Crystal and Belnap, David M. and Vershinin, Michael and Saffarian, Saveez "Minimal system for assembly of SARS-CoV-2 virus like particles" Scientific Reports , v.10 , 2020 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78656-w Citation Details

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was urgent need to evaluate the sensitivity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus particles to environmental conditions. To enable rapid testing, we have developed a way to produce SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles (VLPs) which are a very close mimic of the full virus but lack the genetic component (RNA), making them non-infectious.

We have refined our purification protocols and have shown that these particles have all the expected characteristics, such as having the correct shape and size, having the expected protein composition, as well as presenting the S-protein on the surface of the particles. We then developed ways to attach VLPs to surfaces and examine their ability to persist on surfaces in the face of different relevant temperatures and humidity levels. We have found that the virus persistence is likely to have significant sensitivity to temperature in particular and we have rapidly communicated our findings to the broader scientific community, before the 2020 cold season. We have also shared our VLPs, as well as knowledge and protocols with various research groups to enable further research on SARS-CoV-2 across disciplines. We also continually refined and improved our protocols to enable VLPs with additional incorporated functionality such as a variety of fluorescent labels which make possible studying many of the processes by which SARS-CoV-2 operates on a cellular level.

The project has also had very strong broader impacts. Project leaders have conducted public outreach via TV and radio media to inform the public about issues relevant to the pandemic. In addition, the project has involved five undergraduates in biophysics, biochemistry and cell biology research and all of them are co-authors on the resulting publications. Two graduate students have made key contributions to the project and have received PhDs, in part due to their efforts on this project. In addition to scholarly publications and public outreach, students and PIs have presented their findings at conferences and invited talks to reach the broader scientific community and to further disseminate their findings.


Last Modified: 09/17/2022
Modified by: Michael D Vershinin

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