title: Measurement of the electrokinetic properties of vaccinia and reovirus by laser-illuminated whole-particle microelectrophoresis.
abstract: The electrokinetics of vaccinia virus and reovirus type 3 were studied in dilute electrolyte solutions by whole-particle microelectrophoresis with dark-field laser illumination. The electrophoretic mobilities were dependent upon pH and electrolyte composition. The isoelectric point of vaccinia virus in dilute NaCl was 4.8 +/- 0.1; that of reovirus was 3.8 +/- 0.1. The mobility of reovirus was -2.65 +/- 0.30 micrometer . S-1 . V-1 . cm-1. Treatments known to cause irreversible changes in the structure of vaccinia, such as heating to 90 degrees C or exposure to pH 10, altered the virus's mobility under the reference conditions. The practical range of whole-particle microelectrophoresis thus extends to microorganisms as small as reovirus, allowing their electrokinetic and related surface properties to be studied.
mesh_terms: D001639:Bicarbonates; D002122:Calcium Chloride; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007526:Isoelectric Point; D007834:Lasers; D012089:Mammalian orthoreovirus 3 / Q000502:physiology*; D012087:Reoviridae / Q000502:physiology*; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013499:Surface Properties; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001639:Bicarbonates; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases; D002122:Calcium Chloride