| Popis: |
Recent experiments on the inactivation of plant, animal, and bacterial viruses by γ rays, X rays, and α rays are reviewed. In sufficiently dilute aqueous solutions the inactivation is mainly indirect, i.e., is due to the production of ionization in the water rather than in the virus itself. If the virus is irradiated dry, however, or in an aqueous solution of sufficiently high solid content, larger doses are required and the inactivation is mainly direct, i.e., the inactivation of a virus particle is due to the production of ionization in the virus particle itself. There is evidence that a single ionization suffices to inactivate a virus particle. A correlation exists between the inactivation dose for the direct effect and the size of the virus, in the direction of the inactivation dose being greatest for the smallest viruses. The experimental relation between inactivation dose and virus size is compared with the relation calculated on the hypothesis that a single ionization anywhere in the virus particle... |
