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Comparative study on the inactivation of MS2 and M13 bacteriophages using energetic femtosecond lasers
Aziz Berchtikou1, Esen Sokullu1, Sharifun Nahar1
1INRS - Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications, Varennes, Québec, Canada.
Abstract:
Femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation techniques are emerging tools for inactivating viruses that do not involve ionizing radiation. In this work, the inactivation of two bacteriophages representing protective capsids with different geometric constraints, that is, the near-spherical MS2 (with a diameter of 27 nm) and the filamentous M13 (with a length of 880 nm) is compared using energetic visible and near-infrared fs laser pulses with various energies, pulse durations, and exposure times. Intriguingly, the results show that inactivation using 400 nm lasers is substantially more efficient for MS2 compared to M13. In contrast, using 800 nm lasers, M13 was slightly more efficiently inactivated. For both viruses, the genome was exposed to a harmful environment upon fs-laser irradiation. However, in addition to the protection of the genome, the metastable capsids differ in many properties required for stepwise cell entry that may explain their dissimilar behavior after (partial) disassembly. For MS2, the dominant mechanism of fs-laser inactivation was the aggregation of the viral capsid proteins, whereas aggregation did not affect M13 inactivation, suggesting that the dominant mechanism of M13 inactivation was related to breaking of secondary protein links.
Insights
Femtosecond laser inactivation of viruses shows shape-dependent efficiency. Near-spherical MS2 is inactivated by 400nm lasers, while filamentous M13 is more affected by 800nm lasers, revealing distinct viral inactivation mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Laser Physics
- Virology
Background:
- Femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation offers a non-ionizing method for virus inactivation.
- Understanding virus inactivation mechanisms is crucial for developing novel antiviral strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the inactivation efficiency of fs laser pulses on two bacteriophages, MS2 (near-spherical) and M13 (filamentous), with different capsid structures.
- To investigate the influence of laser wavelength (400 nm vs. 800 nm) and parameters on viral inactivation.
- To elucidate the distinct inactivation mechanisms for viruses with varying geometric constraints.
Main Methods:
- Inactivation of MS2 and M13 bacteriophages using energetic visible and near-infrared fs laser pulses.
- Systematic variation of laser pulse energy, duration, and exposure time.
- Analysis of viral capsid protein aggregation and genome exposure as indicators of inactivation.
Main Results:
- 400 nm fs laser inactivation was significantly more efficient for MS2 than M13.
- 800 nm fs laser inactivation showed slightly higher efficiency for M13 compared to MS2.
- MS2 inactivation was dominated by capsid protein aggregation, while M13 inactivation involved breaking of secondary protein links.
Conclusions:
- The geometric constraints and capsid properties of viruses influence their inactivation efficiency by fs lasers.
- Different fs laser wavelengths and parameters can target specific viral structures and mechanisms.
- Fs laser irradiation presents a versatile tool for virus inactivation, with mechanisms dependent on viral morphology.
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