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. 2004 Oct;121(1):85-91.
doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2004.06.006.

Inactivation of the coronavirus that induces severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS-CoV

Miriam E R Darnell  1 , Kanta Subbarao, Stephen M Feinstone, Deborah R Taylor
Affiliations

Inactivation of the coronavirus that induces severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS-CoV

Miriam E R Darnell et al. J Virol Methods. 2004 Oct.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a life-threatening disease caused by a novel coronavirus termed SARS-CoV. Due to the severity of this disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that manipulation of active viral cultures of SARS-CoV be performed in containment laboratories at biosafety level 3 (BSL3). The virus was inactivated by ultraviolet light (UV) at 254 nm, heat treatment of 65 degrees C or greater, alkaline (pH > 12) or acidic (pH < 3) conditions, formalin and glutaraldehyde treatments. We describe the kinetics of these efficient viral inactivation methods, which will allow research with SARS-CoV containing materials, that are rendered non-infectious, to be conducted at reduced safety levels.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effect of radiation on the infectivity of SARS-CoV. (A) UV irradiation. The UV lamp was placed 3 cm above the bottom of 24-well plates containing 2 ml virus aliquots. Samples were removed at each time point, frozen, and titrated in Vero E6 cells. The results shown are representative of three independent experiments. (B) Gamma irradiation. Virus aliquots (400 μl) were placed in cryovials on dry ice and exposed to the indicated dose of gamma irradiation. Control samples were treated identically, without radiation exposure. Samples were titrated in Vero E6 cells in triplicate. The dotted line denotes the limit of detection of the assay.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effect of heat treatment on the infectivity of SARS-CoV. Virus aliquots (400 μl) were incubated at (A, C) 56 °C, (B, C) 65 °C and (C) 75 °C. Samples were removed at the designated time, frozen, and titrated in Vero E6 cells in triplicate. The dotted line denotes the limit of detection of the assay.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effect of pH conditions on the infectivity of SARS-CoV. Virus aliquots (2 ml) were adjusted to the indicated pH condition, divided into triplicate samples, incubated at the designated temperature for 1 h, neutralized, frozen, and titrated. The dotted line denotes the limit of detection of the assay.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by gamma irradiation.
    Jain R, Sarkale P, Mali D, Shete AM, Patil DY, Majumdar T, Suryawanshi A, Patil S, Mohandas S, Yadav PD. Jain R, et al. Indian J Med Res. 2021 Jan & Feb;153(1 & 2):196-198. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_2789_20. Indian J Med Res. 2021. PMID: 33818476 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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