Psoralen-UV-A Inactivation Based High-throughput Pathogen Inactivation Device

Pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential are a high-priority public health concern to both the civilian populations and the United States Forces due their disruptive nature. Protection against such pathogens through vaccination is integral to maintaining public health. A vaccine platform that can be rapidly adapted to pathogens would be of high interest for protecting US Forces and civilians against infectious disease. A promising whole-cell vaccination platform (developed by NMRC) that leverages psoralen and UV-A irradiation to inactivate viral nucleic acid has shown efficacy in both SARS-CoV-2 and Dengue. In this project, TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) proposes to develop a modular, tunable, chip-based continuous flow through device to enable psoralen-UV-A inactivation of small (10 mL) and large (50 L) batches at high viral titers. TDA will design a fluidic chip-based inactivation reactor. To scale from low to high volume, the operator can simply stack chips in the device. This approach offers scalability with no change in the flow-path, and therefore no change in efficacy of inactivation. TDA will develop and demonstrate the chip-based psoralen-UV-A reactor, fluid handling, and electronic control systems in this effort.