Inactivation of encephalomyocarditis virus andherpes simplex virus by using a visible femtosecond laser

Inactivation of encephalomyocarditis virus andherpes simplex virus by using a visible femtosecond laser


Author(s): Shaw-Wei D. Tsen, Washington Univ. in St. Louis (United States);Kong-Thon Tsen, Arizona State Univ. (United States)
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Recently, a variety of viral systems, including M13 bacteriophage, tobaccomosaic virus (TMV), human papillomavirus (HPV) and human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) have been shown to be inactivated by the irradiation of a near-infraredsubpicosecond fiber laser. These experimental results indicated that theinactivation of viruses by an ultrashort pulsed laser might involve disruptionof their protein coat through laser-induced excitation of large-amplitudeacoustic vibrations. In this work, we report experimental results on theinactivation of both encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) and herpes simplex virus(HSV) by using a visible femtosecond laser derived from the second harmonicgeneration of a cw mode-locked Ti-sapphire laser system. The inactivation ofthese viral particles has been demonstrated to depend on the laser exposuretime as well as laser power density. Possible mechanisms for the inactivationwill be discussed.