Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped Viruses

Replication-competent virus particles hold significant therapeutic potential in application as oncolytic viruses or cancer vaccines. Ensuring the viral integrity of these particles is crucial for their infectivity, safety, and efficacy. Enveloped virus particles, in particular, offer large gene inse...

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Main Authors: Adrian Schimek, Judy King Man Ng, Jürgen Hubbuch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Vaccines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/5/444
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author Adrian Schimek
Judy King Man Ng
Jürgen Hubbuch
author_facet Adrian Schimek
Judy King Man Ng
Jürgen Hubbuch
author_sort Adrian Schimek
collection DOAJ
description Replication-competent virus particles hold significant therapeutic potential in application as oncolytic viruses or cancer vaccines. Ensuring the viral integrity of these particles is crucial for their infectivity, safety, and efficacy. Enveloped virus particles, in particular, offer large gene insert capacities and customizable target specificity. However, their sensitivity to environmental factors presents challenges in bioprocessing, potentially compromising high quality standards and cost-effective production. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the purification process steps for replication-competent enveloped virus particles, emphasizing the importance of maintaining viral integrity. It evaluates bioprocessing methods from cell culture harvest to final sterile filtration, including centrifugation, chromatographic, and filtration purification techniques. Furthermore, the manuscript delves into formulation and storage strategies necessary to preserve the functional and structural integrity of virus particles, ensuring their long-term stability and therapeutic efficacy. To assess the impact of process steps on particles and determine their quality and integrity, advanced analytical methods are required. This review evaluates commonly used methods for assessing viral integrity, such as infectious titer assays, total virus particle quantification, and structural analysis. By providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of bioprocessing for replication-competent enveloped virus particles, this review aims to guide researchers and industry professionals in developing robust and efficient purification processes. The insights gained from this analysis will contribute to the advancement of virus-based therapeutics, ultimately supporting the development of safe, effective, and economically viable treatments for various diseases.
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spelling doaj-art-e9a7143e109247609b32a34a47986e9c2025-08-20T01:56:42ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2025-04-0113544410.3390/vaccines13050444Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped VirusesAdrian Schimek0Judy King Man Ng1Jürgen Hubbuch2ViraTherapeutics GmbH, Bundesstraße 27, 6063 Rum, AustriaViraTherapeutics GmbH, Bundesstraße 27, 6063 Rum, AustriaKarlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences, Section IV Biomolecular Separation Engineering, Fritz-Haber-Weg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, GermanyReplication-competent virus particles hold significant therapeutic potential in application as oncolytic viruses or cancer vaccines. Ensuring the viral integrity of these particles is crucial for their infectivity, safety, and efficacy. Enveloped virus particles, in particular, offer large gene insert capacities and customizable target specificity. However, their sensitivity to environmental factors presents challenges in bioprocessing, potentially compromising high quality standards and cost-effective production. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the purification process steps for replication-competent enveloped virus particles, emphasizing the importance of maintaining viral integrity. It evaluates bioprocessing methods from cell culture harvest to final sterile filtration, including centrifugation, chromatographic, and filtration purification techniques. Furthermore, the manuscript delves into formulation and storage strategies necessary to preserve the functional and structural integrity of virus particles, ensuring their long-term stability and therapeutic efficacy. To assess the impact of process steps on particles and determine their quality and integrity, advanced analytical methods are required. This review evaluates commonly used methods for assessing viral integrity, such as infectious titer assays, total virus particle quantification, and structural analysis. By providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of bioprocessing for replication-competent enveloped virus particles, this review aims to guide researchers and industry professionals in developing robust and efficient purification processes. The insights gained from this analysis will contribute to the advancement of virus-based therapeutics, ultimately supporting the development of safe, effective, and economically viable treatments for various diseases.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/5/444enveloped virus particlesreplication-competent virus particlesvirus purificationoncolytic virusescancer vaccines
spellingShingle Adrian Schimek
Judy King Man Ng
Jürgen Hubbuch
Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped Viruses
Vaccines
enveloped virus particles
replication-competent virus particles
virus purification
oncolytic viruses
cancer vaccines
title Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped Viruses
title_full Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped Viruses
title_fullStr Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped Viruses
title_full_unstemmed Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped Viruses
title_short Navigating the Purification Process: Maintaining the Integrity of Replication-Competent Enveloped Viruses
title_sort navigating the purification process maintaining the integrity of replication competent enveloped viruses
topic enveloped virus particles
replication-competent virus particles
virus purification
oncolytic viruses
cancer vaccines
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/5/444
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