Virus inactivation and protein recovery in a novel ultraviolet-C reactor.
OBJECTIVE
Ultraviolet-C (UVC) irradiation is a viral-inactivation method that was dismissed by many plasma fractionators as a result of the potential for protein damage and the difficulty in delivering uniform doses. A reactor with novel spiral flow hydraulic mixing was recently designed for uniform and controlled UVC treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate virus inactivation and protein recovery after treatment through the new reactor.


METHODS
Virus- and mock-spiked Alpha1-proteinase inhibitor (Alpha1-PI) solutions were treated with UVC. The virus samples were assayed for residual infectivity and amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mock-spiked samples were assayed for protein integrity.


RESULTS
Greater than 4 log10 of all test viruses were inactivated, regardless of the type of nucleic acid or presence of an envelope. Unlike previous studies, viruses with the smallest genomes were found to be those most sensitive to UVC irradiation, and detection of PCR amplicons > or = 2.0 kb was correlated to viral infectivity. Doses that achieved significant virus inactivation yielded recovery of > 90% protein activity, even in the absence of quenchers.


CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrate the effectiveness of UVC treatment, in the novel reactor, to inactivate viruses without causing significant protein damage, and confirm the utility of large PCR amplicons as markers for infectious virus.
Wang
J
J
Bayer Healthcare, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Mauser
A
A
Chao
S-F
SF
Remington
K
K
Treckmann
R
R
Kaiser
K
K
Pifat
D
D
Hotta
J
J
D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line / Q000821:virology; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D006224:Cricetinae; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000528:radiation effects; D004203:Disinfection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D012089:Mammalian orthoreovirus 3 / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008647:Mesocricetus; D016732:Parvovirus B19, Human / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D010949:Plasma; D010957:Plasmids / Q000528:radiation effects; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000528:radiation effects; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D012845:Sindbis Virus / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D038301:Virus Inactivation / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000528:radiation effects; D014780:Viruses / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects*; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012709:Serum Albumin; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin