Malvern MicroCal PEAQ-DSC for vaccine development

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As researchers develop vaccines for novel viruses and discover new ways to prevent disease, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is helping developers achieve what was once out of reach. By increasing the accuracy and speed of candidate characterisation and screening the most promising and stable candidates, DSC is accelerating development timelines and helping bring life-saving vaccines to people faster than ever before.

Traditionally, differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) has been the go-to method for early-stage screening due to its high-throughput format and small sample requirements, but DSF comes with limitations. It relies on detecting protein unfolding through fluorescence, but only for proteins that contain fluorophores or can be tagged. Fluorescent dyes and buffer conditions can interfere with results, and DSF only reports unfolding events — not the full thermodynamic picture. As the biopharmaceutical landscape expands to include increasingly complex modalities such as antibody-drug conjugates, bispecifics, nucleotides and mRNA lipid nanoparticles, the limitations of DSF become more evident.

Malvern’s MicroCal PEAQ-DSC microcalorimeters offer a robust and versatile alternative for protein thermal stability screening. The product directly measures the heat absorbed during unfolding without the need for fluorescent dyes, offering label-free analysis and a complete thermodynamic profile — including melting temperature (Tm), enthalpy change (ΔH) and heat capacity (Cp). The removal of fluorescent dyes makes PEAQ-DSC applicable to proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and their assemblies. In addition, because the product does not rely on optical, signal-based measurements, it is free from artefacts caused by quenching, protein aggregation or light scattering.

According to Malvern, PEAQ-DSC’s ability to generate precise thermostability profiles or thermal fingerprints enables reproducibility and reduces false positives. It also complements DSF and circular dichroism (CD) by acting as a benchmark, which should enable researchers to validate rapid assays with confidence.

By identifying stable candidates early, defining optimal conditions and supporting QbD frameworks, the product helps to accelerate development timelines and support regulatory success. It thus provides the versatility needed to quickly and safely bring the next generation of vaccine candidates to market.