[Using real-time PCR to evaluate the effect of viral inactivation by Methylene Blue with visible light]

To investigate the feasibility of using Real-Time PCR to evaluate the effectiveness of Sindbis virus inactivation by Methylene Blue with visible light. Sindbis virus was treated by Methylene Blue with different intensity of visible light and the transcribed cDNA was quantified by Real-Time PCR. Residual infectivity of treated virus was tested by cell infection method as parallel control at the same time. The residual infectivity of virus decreased from 6.50 lgTCID50/mL to under the limit of detection as light intensity increased. Meanwhile, the quantity of virus cDNA decreased significantly (P < 0.05), which correlated to the decline of virus infectivity (R2 > 0.98). Methylene Blue with visible light could cause lesion to nucleic acid of Sindbis virus, the extent of which was light intensity-dependent and correlated to the decrease of virus infectivity. The results demonstrated that Real-Time PCR can be a useful tool for evaluating effect of virus inactivation after Methylene Blue treatment with light.