SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus identified at the end of 2019 and is the cause of the respiratory illness known as Covid-19. the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus with a 30,000 base genome. The virus has four structural proteins, S (spike), E (envelope), M (membrane) and N (nucleocapsid). The N protein holds the RNA genome, while the S, E and M proteins make up the viral envelope. The S protein is the one responsible for viral attachment to the host cell. the SARS-CoV-2 virus has affinity to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on human cells and this is believed to be the mechanism of cell entry.
The viral genome was sequenced in late January 2020 in China and work immediately started around the globe on vaccines, treatments as well as research products. At MSC we are working closely with the HSE to provide testing supplies for the ongoing pandemic. We can now offer a range of SARS-CoV-2 specific reagents for research projects.
SARS-CoV-2 Products
SARS-CoV-2 Recombinant Proteins
Recombinant proteins produced in both bacterial and mammalian are available through MSC from a number of suppliers including Raybiotech and MP Biomedicals. These proteins include viral envelope proteins and recombinant ACE2 proteins. A variety of His and Fc tagged proteins are available. Please contact your local MSC sales representative for more information on the proteins available.
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
| Description | Supplier | Isotype | Sizes available (µg) |
| Anti-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spike S1 mouse mAb | MP Biomedicals | Mouse IgG1 mAb | 50 & 250 |
| Anti-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spike S2 mouse mAb | MP Biomedicals | Mouse IgG1 mAb | 50 & 250 |
| Anti-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spike S2 (B) mouse mAb | MP Biomedicals | Mouse IgG1 mAb | 50 & 250 |
| Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein | Raybiotech | Rabbit polyclonal | 100 |
| Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein | Raybiotech | Mouse monoclonal | 200 |
| Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein | Raybiotech | Rabbit polyclonal | 100 |
SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kits
MSC partners Raybiotech and ELISAGenie produce ELISA kits to detect ACE-2, the receptor with SARS-CoV-2 binds to in human cells. Many of the antibodies above are also suitable for ELISA assays, ask your local rep for details.
| Description | Supplier | Sample types | Detection range |
| Human ACE-2 ELISA kit | Raybiotech | Cell culture supernatants, plasma, serum, lysates | 0.025 to 20 ng/ml |
| Human ACE-2 ELISA kit | ELISAGenie | Serum, blood, plasma, cell supernatant | 0.391 to 25 ng/ml |
Circulating anti- SARS-CoV-2 antibody Rapid Tests
The AssayGenie COVID-19 Rapid POC test is a lateral flow immunoassay which qualitatively assesses the presence of patient-generated IgG and IgM antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19. The test cassette can detect these antibodies in whole blood, serum or plasma specimens.
Actemra® (Tocilizumab) ELISA kits
The FDA has recently approved a Phase III clinical trial for the use of Tocilizumab (Actemra®) in severe COVID-19 patients. AssayGenie supply a Tocilizumab ELISA kit, which can detect free drug in serum and plasma, as well as an anti-Tocilizumab antibody ELISA kit which is capable of detecting circulating anti-drug antibodies in serum and plasma. Kits are compatible with human, NHP, mouse and rat.
| Description | Supplier | Sensitivity |
| Tocilizumab (Actemra®) ELISA kit | AssayGenie | 10ng/ml |
| Anti-Tocilizumab (Actemra®) anti-drug antibody ELISA kit | AssayGenie | Qualitative Assay |
Inflammatory responses in COVID-19 patients
While the clinical course of Covid-19 is still being determined by clinicians all around the world reports have suggested that patients who go on to develop severe COVID-19 are lymphocytopenic prior to infection. In research studies flow cytometry studies to determine the populations of immune cells circulating in individuals. MSC have a wide range of flow cytometry antibodies as well as magnetic cell sorting reagents.
A report released by clinicians in China report that markers such as C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, ferritin, D-dimer, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNFα and IFN-γ. For example, clinicians saw that patients with normal procalcitonin and elevated C-reactive protein indicated secondary infection and increased D-dimer was shown to be a potential risk factor for poor prognosis. MSC can supply a ELISA assays for all of the markers above from a number of suppliers as well as multiplex assays for different sample types including BAL, serum, plasma and cell culture supernatants.
| ELISA Kits | Multiplex Assays | Flow cytometry antibodies |
| ELISAGenie | ELISAGenie | Biolegend |
| Biolegend | Raybiotech | AntibodyGenie |
| Raybiotech |
For more information get in contact with your local MSC rep.
SARS-CoV-2 qPCR assays
The WHO recommend a qPCR assay for detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. The WHO protocol recommends detection of the E and RdRp (ORF1ab) genes of SARS-CoV-2. MSC supply a number of different qPCR assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2.
| Description | Supplier | Genes detected |
| COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Triplex RT-qPCR Detection kit | AssayGenie | ORF1ab N gene |
| One Step PrimeScript III RT-qPCR kit | TakaraBio | N/A Product is a reagent for one-step RT-qPCR |
| SensiFAST Probe One-Step RT-qPCR kit | Bioline | N/A Product is a reagent for one-step RT-qPCR |
Next Generation Sequencing
NGS can be a valuable tool in viral pandemics, both to characterise and detect viruses and to examine the host immune response to the disease. MSC’s partner Takara-Bio have vast experience in development of NGS library prep kits and have a wide range of kits available for B and T cell receptor profiling as well as low input sequencing for both DNA and RNA. More information is available here and as always, get in touch with your local MSC sales rep for any questions.
Download a copy of our COVID-19 promotion brochure click here
