Evaluation of the effectiveness of chemical inactivation and immunogenicity of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

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Abstract

Introduction. The rapid spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 among the population of many countries around the world has contributed to the emergence of many genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2. Compared to previous coronavirus variants, the new Omicron variants have shown a noticeable degree of mutation. Virus inactivation is one of the most important steps in the development of inactivated vaccines. The chemical inactivation agents currently used are β-propiolactone and formaldehyde, but there is no uniform standard for designing and specifying the inactivation process.

Objective. Evaluation and comparison of the effectiveness of chemical inactivation of two agents, formaldehyde and β-propiolactone against immunogenicity of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Materials and methods. Nasopharyngeal swabs were used to obtain the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant virus. Vero cell culture was used to isolate, reproduce, titrate the virus, and perform a neutralization reaction. The kinetics of studying the inactivation of the virus by chemical agents such as formaldehyde and β-propiolactone was carried out.

Results. Studies have been conducted to comparatively evaluate the effectiveness of chemical agents used to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus of the Omicron variant, planned for use in the production of an inactivated whole-virion vaccine. Formaldehyde and β-propiolactone were used as inactivation agents in concentrations of 0.05, 0.1, 0.5% of the total volume of the virus suspension. It has been established that complete inactivation of the virus by formaldehyde in the concentrations used at a temperature of 37 °C occurs within up to 2 hours, and when using beta-propiolactone, within up to 12 hours.

Conclusion. Inactivated virus samples have different antigenic activity depending on the concentration of the inactivation agents used. The most pronounced antigenic activity is manifested in samples of the pathogen that were treated with an inactivation agent at a mild concentration of 0.05%. Increasing the concentration of inactivation agent by 5 or more times leads to a significant decrease in the antigenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With the inactivation modes used, the loss of biological activity of the virus occurs faster and antigenicity is retained largely when treated with formaldehyde.

About the authors

Gulzhan A. Zhapparova

Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems

Author for correspondence.
Email: Gulzhan1003@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5382-831X

master of biology, senior researcher of the laboratory Especially Dangerous Infectious Diseases

 

Kazakhstan, 080409, Gvardeyskiy

Balzhan S. Myrzakhmetova

Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems

Email: b.myrzakhmetova@biosafety.kz
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4141-7174

candidate of biological sciences, head of the laboratory Especially Dangerous Infectious Diseases

Kazakhstan, 080409, Gvardeyskiy

Talshyngul M. Tlenchiyeva

Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems

Email: t.m.tlenchieva@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0006-7831-4212

master of chemistry, senior researcher of the laboratory Especially Dangerous Infectious Diseases

Kazakhstan, 080409, Gvardeyskiy

Aiganym A. Tussipova

Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems

Email: aiganym.t24@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7767-0542

master of Natural Sciences, senior laboratory assistant of the laboratory Especially Dangerous Infectious Diseases

Kazakhstan, 080409, Gvardeyskiy

Karina B. Bissenbayeva

Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems

Email: bisenbayeva.karina@bk.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5788-6074

master of biology, senior researcher of the laboratory Especially Dangerous Infectious Diseases

Kazakhstan, 080409, Gvardeyskiy

Aizhan S. Toytanova

Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems

Email: aizhana-1308@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0004-9526-3539

master of biology, senior researcher of the laboratory Especially Dangerous Infectious Diseases

Kazakhstan, 080409, Gvardeyskiy

Lespek B. Kutumbetov

Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems

Email: lespek.k@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8481-0673

doctor of veterinary sciences, professor, chief researcher of the laboratory Especially Dangerous Infectious Diseases

Kazakhstan, 080409, Gvardeyskiy

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2. Fig. 1. Cytopathic changes in a monolayer of Vero cell culture, 100× magnification. a ‒ uninfected cell culture; b ‒ cytopathic change in cell culture.

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3. Fig. 2. Kinetics of inactivation of the Omicron virus SARS-COV-2 at a final formaldehyde concentration of 0.05, 0.1, 0.5% and a comparative control at a temperature of 37 °C.

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4. Fig. 3. Kinetics of inactivation of the Omicron virus SARS-COV-2 at a final concentration β-propiolactone 0.05, 0.1, 0.5% and comparative control at a temperature of 37 °C.

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Copyright (c) 2024 Zhapparova G.A., Myrzakhmetova B.S., Tlenchiyeva T.M., Tussipova A.A., Bissenbayeva K.B., Toytanova A.S., Kutumbetov L.B.

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