Products related to novel coronavirus research

First discovered in 1960s, human coronaviruses got their name from the crown-like shape of their surface proteins. This family of viruses causes respiratory tract infections, ranging from mild to severe and hsa been responsible for several global outbreaks since the beggining of the 21st century.

The first major outbreak is associated with the severe acute respiratory syndome coronavirus, also known as SARS. From 2002 to 2003 this new SARS infection has been reported in 29 countries over several continets, including Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Ten years after the first coronavirus related epidemic, a new human coronavirus caused an endemic in Jordan and surrounding countries in the Middle East. This virus has been named middle eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus or MERS.

In December 2019, a new strain named SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China and since then has spread globally. This is the first virus from this family to cause a pandemic. This positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus is believed to have a zoonotic origin and it causes between 2 to 4 new infections from an already existing one. SARS-CoV-2 primary mode of entering human cells is via ACE2, which is a membrane protein, regulating the renin-angiotensin system.

When comparing it to the virus reponsible for the first SARS outbreak in the early 2000s, studies have shown that the new variant has significantly higher affinity for ACE2 and that basigin can also aid in cell entry. 

We offer a large variety of antibodies, proteins and ELISA kits for reliable detection of SARS-CoV-2 to help with your research.