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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

In Vitro Disassembly of Influenza A Virus Capsids by Gradient Centrifugation
Published on: March 27, 2016
Mechanism of inactivation of influenza viruses by immobilized hydrophobic polycations
Bryan B Hsu1, Sze Yinn Wong, Paula T Hammond
1Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Abstract:
N,N-dodecyl,methyl-polyethylenimine coatings applied to solid surfaces have been shown by us to disinfect aqueous solutions of influenza viruses. Herein we elucidate the mechanism of this phenomenon. Infectivity-, protein-, RNA-, and scanning electron microscopy-based experiments reveal that, upon contact with the hydrophobic polycationic coating, influenza viruses (including pathogenic human and avian, both wild-type and drug-resistant, strains) irreversibly adhere to it, followed by structural damage and inactivation; subsequently, viral RNA is released into solution, while proteins remain adsorbed.
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