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Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 January; 15(1): 67-73
Copyright © 1979, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Extreme Sensitivity of Enveloped Viruses, Including Herpes Simplex, to Long-Chain Unsaturated Monoglycerides and Alcohols

Jeffrey Sands¹, David Auperin¹ and Wallace Snipes²

¹ Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015
² Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802

ABSTRACT

Unsaturated monoglycerides and alcohols of chain lengths of 16 or 18 carbons were found to be extremely potent inactivators of two enveloped viruses, herpes simplex virus type 2 and bacteriophage 6. The lipid-containing bacteriophage PM2 was also inactivated by some of these amphiphilic molecules. Treatment of herpes simplex virus type 2 with these compounds at concentrations as low as 0.2 µM reduced virus survival to 50% in 30 min, making these agents the most potent inactivators of herpes simplex viruses discovered that are not cytotoxic to mammalian cells. Detailed characterizations of the effects of unsaturated monoglycerides and alcohols on bacteriophages 6 and PM2 showed that the inactivated 6 virion remained nearly intact but that PM2 was almost completely disrupted by the inactivating treatment. Some of the compounds inactivate the viruses even at low temperature (0°C). Excess amounts of diglycerides and phospholipids interfere with the inactivating abilities of some of the unsaturated monoglycerides and alcohols against 6 and PM2. Our findings suggest that the unsaturated monoglycerides and some of the unsaturated alcohols should be further studied as potential antiviral agents, particularly for application to herpesvirus-infected areas of the skin and accessible epithelium.

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Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 January; 15(1): 67-73
Copyright © 1979, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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