Oxygen consumption and transfer rate throughout the production of recombinant baculovirus and Zika virus-like particles

Abstract

The Zika Virus (ZIKV) has become a global threat by spreading and manifesting a disease that varies from asymptomatic to severe manifestations. There is no specific treatment for the pathology caused by this virus and, despite the urgency, the development of a vaccine faces challenges. In this sense, Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) have emerged as an innovative approach, as they are structures without infectious genetic material, which guarantees safety. In this way, pharmaceutical bioprocesses are essential for scaling up the production of biological drugs, which involve upstream (cell cultivation) and downstream (purification) stages. Understanding key parameters such as Multiplicity of Infection (MOI), Time of Infection (TOI) and Harvest Time (HT) in viral replication is crucial to developing effective processes in this area, and studies of cellular respiration are fundamental to optimizing cell growth, improving production and guaranteeing the quality of VLPs. With this in mind, this work aims to study the consumption and rate of oxygen transfer throughout the production of recombinant baculoviruses and Zika-like virus particles. Infection assays will be carried out with different MOIs, where Sf9 insect cells will be infected with the baculoviruses. The expression of the E-ZIKV protein on the surface of the cells can be observed by western blot assays. The VLPs will be analyzed and characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The results obtained in this project could provide important tools for scaling up a vaccine method against ZIKV.