The Use of Synchrotron Radiation in Virology

Introduction: The demand for new rapid methods for development of medicines for health care is becoming more relevant. Detailed knowledge of the spatial structure of viral proteins and their complexes formed when the organism is infected with viruses is important for effective development of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Timely selection of sensitive animal models and the study of the pathogenesis of an infectious disease on them are important for quality testing of biological preparations. The synchrotron radiation source is a new powerful biological research tool.

Objective: To analyze the potential of existing sources of synchrotron radiation for conducting virology research, from macroorganisms to individual viral proteins.

Materials and methods: We searched for literary sources published in 1996–2022 and devoted to the use of synchrotron radiation in virology and its importance for public health in the future using relevant keywords in the PubMed and PDB databases. Fifty-one full-text publications were found eligible for inclusion in the review.

Results: Currently, there are over 70 different synchrotron radiation sources worldwide and many of them are used for diverse biological studies of living systems. Phaseontrast X-ray imaging makes it possible to visualize soft tissues in vivo with resolution up to 1 µm in the absence of contrast agents. Synchrotron radiation allows real-time 3D-histology without the necessity to prepare ultra-thin slices. Obtaining the structure of viral proteins in solution and protein crystallography realized with synchrotron radiation sources has been actively used in antiviral drug development and the study of fundamental properties of viruses since 2000.

Conclusion: The X-ray techniques realized in synchrotron radiation sources discussed in this review constitute the fundamental basis of many virology studies and have a promising future for ensuring biological safety of Russia.

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