The Physics of Viruses

The Thermal Inactivation of T4 and λ Bacteriophage

“…Two sample curves showing the thermal inactivation of T4 and X are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Both were observed at 65°C; both show the two-component appearance.…”

“…Thermal inactivation studies of viruses have been of interest to us for many years. The process is often characterized by relatively simple kinetics, fitting the relation In N/No = -kit where N and No are the active and original virus activities, t is the elapsed time, and k1 is a rate constant, and can be analyzed in terms of the theory of absolute reaction rates (1). It is also often true, however, that the kinetics are more complex; thus Woese (2) finds that the thermal inactivation of animal viruses is generally a two-component inactivation, meaning that there are two rate constants, each component following first-order kinetics.…”