Extending the shelf life of viral swab samples for storage and shipment at room temperature

延长病毒拭子样本在室温下储存和运输的保质期

• 批准号: 58207
• 金额: $ 9.18万
• 依托单位: ATELERIX LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Feasibility Studies
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=58207
• 关键词: Extending; shelf; life; viral; swab

More than 380,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in the UK, with less than 20,000 samples being collected daily. The government plans to escalate testing more than five-fold to 100,000 daily samples. However, a severe limitation of swab samples which collect infected cells from the upper respiratory tract is their short shelf-life of only 48-72 hours at 2-8°C. Cells are fragile and unable to survive outside their normal environment, limiting the amount of time they can be tested to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Expired samples can no longer be used for reliable diagnostic purposes, and would lead to patients needing to be re-tested.A technology has been developed that enables the safe storage of biological samples, extending their lifespan at room temperature. This technology has effectively preserved a wide range of cell types, such as stem cells, primary skin and blood products. Furthermore, the technology is being applied to pioneering therapies, currently undergoing clinical trials, that use live cells to treat diseases and conditions that cannot be successfully treated with conventional drugs. This project proposes to use this technology to design a novel and innovative storage appliance to preserve swab samples at **room temperature** to extend the viability of testing samples way beyond 72 hours (up to two weeks). This would contribute to the government's goal of increasing daily testing for COVID-19, by allowing more patient samples to be collected as they can be safely stored for longer, or transported further to centralised testing facilities. This new swab-storage product would consist of a kit that is simple and quick for healthcare professionals to use. A novel preservation kit such as this is essential to extend the shelf-life of patient samples for COVID-19 testing. More flexibility in the timeframe for swab samples to be tested would ultimately result in more samples being able to be collected and therefore more patients being diagnosed. Additionally, increased testing can help direct government policies on social and workplace policies, which would help the economy and wellbeing of UK residents. A product like this has the potential to optimise global disease testing for COVID-19, and in the future could be applied to other disease diagnostic kits.The effects of Extension for Impact funding will enable Atelerix to extend the positive impacts learned within this project to enable further applications in COVID-19 research, diagnostics, and application to existing and emerging viruses. Key findings suggest that Atelerix's technology can be utilised for the preservation of upper airway epithelial cells, the cells that coronavirus infect. The development of clinical treatments, such as anti-virals and vaccines, to limit the spread or severity of coronavirus is a global health priority. Cell models are critical to understand the infection biology, growth kinetics and mechanism of action of coronavirus. The use of Atelerix’s technology to store and distribute airway epithelial cell models can have a direct impact on Research and Drug Discovery, and the ultimate development of new treatments. In addition, the Extension for Impact funding will allow Atelerix to explore how the novel product developed within this project could be applied to other infectious diseases for monitoring and reducing the risk of future pandemics.

英国已有超过 380,000 人接受了 COVID-19 检测，每天收集的样本不到 20,000 份，政府计划将检测数量增加五倍以上，达到每天 100,000 份样本，但收集的拭子样本受到严重限制。来自上呼吸道的受感染细胞在 2-8°C 下的保质期很短，只有 48-72 小时，细胞很脆弱，无法在正常情况下生存。环境，限制了检测 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的时间。过期的样本无法再用于可靠的诊断，并会导致患者需要重新检测。已经开发出一种技术，可以能够安全储存生物样本，延长其在室温下的寿命。该技术有效地保存了多种细胞类型，例如干细胞、原代皮肤和血液制品，目前该技术正应用于开创性的治疗中。正在进行临床试验，使用活细胞该项目建议使用该技术设计一种新颖且创新的存储设备，以在**室温**下保存拭子样本，以将测试样本的存活时间延长至超过72小时。 （最多两周）。这将有助于政府增加每日检测 COVID-19 的目标，因为可以收集更多的患者样本，因为它们可以安全保存更长时间，或者进一步运输到集中检测设施。拭子储存产品将包含一个供医疗保健专业人员使用的简单快捷的套件，这样的新型保存套件对于延长用于 COVID-19 检测的患者样本的保质期至关重要。最终将能够收集更多样本，从而诊断更多患者。此外，增加检测可以帮助指导政府制定社会和工作场所政策，这将有助于英国居民的经济和福祉。优化全球疾病检测的潜力COVID-19 以及未来可能应用于其他疾病诊断试剂盒。Extension for Impact 资金的效果将使 Atelerix 能够扩大在该项目中学到的积极影响，从而在 COVID-19 研究、诊断和应用中进一步应用主要研究结果表明 Atelerix 的技术可用于保存上呼吸道上皮细胞（冠状病毒感染的细胞），开发抗病毒药物和疫苗等临床治疗方法，以限制传播。细胞模型对于了解冠状病毒的感染生物学、生长动力学和作用机制至关重要，使用 Atelerix 的技术来存储和分发气道上皮细胞模型可以对研究和治疗产生直接影响。此外，药物发现以及新疗法的最终开发将允许 Atelerix 探索如何将该项目中开发的新产品应用于其他传染病，以监测和降低未来流行病的风险。