Molecular weight determination of adeno-associate virus serotype 8 virus-like particle either carrying or lacking genome via native nES gas-phase electrophoretic molecular mobility analysis and nESI QRTOF mass spectrometry.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are proteinaceous shells derived from viruses lacking any viral genomic material. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a non-enveloped icosahedral virus used as VLP delivery system in gene therapy (GT). Its success as vehicle for GT is due to its selective tropism, high level of transduction, and low immunogenicity.

Adeno-associated Virus Virus-like Particle Characterization via Orthogonal Methods: Nanoelectrospray Differential Mobility Analysis, Asymmetric Flow Field-Flow Fractionation, and Atomic Force Microscopy.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based virus-like particles (VLPs) are thriving vectors of choice in the biopharmaceutical field of gene therapy. Here, a method to investigate purified AAV serotype 8 (AAV8) batches via a nanoelectrospray gas-phase mobility molecular analyzer (nES GEMMA), also known as an nES differential mobility analyzer, is presented. Indeed, due to AAV's double-digit nanometer scale, nES GEMMA is an excellently suited technique to determine the surface-dry particle size termed electrophoretic mobility diameter of such VLPs in their native state at atmospheric pressure and with particle-number-based detection.