Patent ID: 8036861
Filing Date: 2011-10-11
Classification: G01N,Y02A

Abstract:
1. A method for determining a replication rate of a viral population, said method comprising the steps of: a) diluting the viral population into at least 2 different dilutions; b) providing cells into wells, wherein the amount of wells is the amount of the different dilutions from step a) in duplicate, triplicate or any other multiple; c) infecting the multiple wells of cells with each dilution of the viral population so as to promote replication of said viral population, wherein said cells or viral population comprise a phenotypic marker, whose signal is proportional to the logarithm of the viral population count; d) measuring in a suitable device for each well the signal expressed by the phenotypic marker for at least 2 different time points; e) calculating a weight (w) for each group of signals of the wells with the same dilution at each time point, wherein each group of signals of the wells with the same dilution at each time point is a dilution multiple set, whereby said weight is a monotone decreasing function of the standard deviation of the signals; f) plotting the logarithm of the signal data obtained from step d), in function of the time, and disregarding the signal data which is outside the linear region; g) extrapolating each remaining signal data by adding said each remaining signal data to the logarithm of each dilution factor at which the viral population was diluted; and h) calculating the replication rate by performing a linear regression on the extrapolated remaining signal data and their corresponding time points; wherein the replication rate of the viral population (RR) is calculated according to the formula: wherein the replication of a viral population refers to the completion of an entire viral life cycle, “w” is the weight for each signal data set, “x” is a time point, “y” is each signal data for a given time point multiplied by the dilution factor, and “n” is the total number of signal data.