Degradation of poliovirus by adsorption on inorganic surfaces

Alteration of the specific infectivity of 3H-labeled ribonucleic acid and 14C-protein labeled poliovirus type 1 by adsorption on inorganic surfaces is investigated by application of kinetic theory to data obtained from sequential extractions of adsorbed virus. Some surfaces, e.g., SiO2, appear to have no significant effect. On the other hand, CuO substantially decreases the specific infectivity of adsorbed preparations. Differences in kinetic plots between 3H-labeled ribonucleic acid and 14C-labeled protein suggest that the inactivation observed involves physical disruption of virions. Van der Waals interactions between solid surfaces and virus are suspected to induce spontaneous virion disassembly. Surface catalyzed disassembly in aquatic and soil environments is implicated as an important mechanism controlling enterovirus dissemination. Methods developed here to evaluate complete recovery of adsorbed virus have potenital application to other degradation studied and problems concerning virus recovery from adsorbents used in virus concentrators.