Virus Filtration: SARS-CoV-2 Removal

One of our clients, TeraPore Technologies, develops an Intelligent Membrane platform that provides targeted and uniform nanofiltration with a high-permeability, high-resolution membrane for bioprocessing and other applications. Their mission is to solve the most challenging bioseparations problems.

Near the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, TeraPore donated surplus masks and other PPE to a local healthcare facility in the San Francisco Bay area. Then, as restrictions for some businesses began to lift, they in turn received an unexpected gift of PPE from a commercial partner, allowing them to safely restart their R&D efforts. Once back in the lab, and relative to the pandemic, the TeraPore team conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Intelligent Membrane platform in removing COVID-19-causing virus from water.

From their press release: “In April, TeraPore team members validated reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. They then evaluated TeraPore’s IsoBlock filters for the removal of the inactivated virus and demonstrated >99.9 percent removal of SARS-CoV-2 for two IsoBlock filter variants in May. After filtration, no residual virus was found in the permeate.

And for their press release, they wanted a specific animation that demonstrated the removal of the SARS-CoV-2. We were able to leverage animation assets from a longer technical animation and meet that need.