Adhesion of cholera phage to glass surfaces at high inactivation temperatures

Decimal dilutions of cholera phage heated in test tubes at the temperature range of 65 degrees to 70 degrees showed an erratic behaviour in that the residual counts had no relationship to the quantity of phage originally present in the tubes. If the contents of the heated tubes were decanted off and the empty tubes washed repeatedly with broth, the recovery of phage from successive washings of the tubes was much higher than what would be expected on the basis of the simple dilution effect of washings. The data presented indicate that the heating causes loose adhesion of phage to the wall of the glass tubes from where they can be detached by washing or shaking. The facts that E. coli phage T1 and also cholera phages tested with two different broths have given similar results, suggest that some general property of the phage itself is responsible for the phenomenon observed. The phenomenon appears to be different from the adsorption of phage to glass filters at lower temperature range described by earlier workers.