Filamentous bacteriophage stability in non-aqueous media.
BACKGROUND
Filamentous bacteriophage are used as general cloning vectors as well as phage display vectors in order to study ligand-receptor interactions. Exposure to biphasic chloroform-water interface leads to specific contraction of phage, to non-infective I- or S-forms.


RESULTS
Upon exposure, phage were inactivated (non-infective) at methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol concentrations inversely dependent upon alcohol hydrophobicity. Infectivity loss of phage at certain concentrations of 1-propanol or ethanol coincided with changes in the spectral properties of the f1 virion in ultraviolet fluorescence and circular dichroism studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The alcohols inactivate filamentous phage by a general mechanism--solvation of coat protein--thereby disrupting the capsid in a manner quite different from the previously reported I- and S-forms. The infectivity retention of phagemid pG8H6 in 99% acetonitrile and the relatively high general solvent resistance of the phage strains studied here open up the possibility of employing phage display in non-aqueous media.
Olofsson
L
L
Bioorganic and Biophysical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, University of Kalmar, SE-391 82, Kalmar, Sweden.
Ankarloo
J
J
Andersson
P O
PO
Nicholls
I A
IA
D000433:1-Propanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000494:pharmacology; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D020650:Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003470:Culture Media; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D000432:Methanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D012997:Solvents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013696:Temperature
D000097:Acetonitriles; D003470:Culture Media; D012997:Solvents; D000431:Ethanol; D000433:1-Propanol; D000432:Methanol; C032159:acetonitrile