Radiation Inactivation of Coronavirus Infection Pathogen by the Example of Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus

Abstract

In recent years, members of the Coronaviridae family have caused outbreaks of respiratory diseases (MERS, SARS,. At the same time, the potential of radiation-induced inactivation of this group of viruses have been little studied, although radiation technologies can be widely used both in the processing of personal protective equipment and in the sterilization of vaccines. In the present work, the effect of 10 MeV electron beams and 7.6 MeV bremsstrahlung on the coronavirus infection pathogen (transmissible gastroenteritis virus) has been studied in vitro. In the given experimental conditions, irradiation with photons turned out to be more effective. The virus-containing suspension frozen at -86°C was the most resistant to radiation: the dose required for complete inactivation of the virus in this case was from 15 kGy, while for the liquid suspension and lyophilized form the sterilizing dose was from 10 kGy. At lower radiation doses for all samples during passaging in cell culture, residual infectious activity of the virus was observed. These differences in the efficiency of inactivation of liquid and frozen virus-containing samples indicate a significant contribution of the direct effect of radiation.

Increased Efficiency of Radiation Inactivation of Virions by Gold Nanoparticles

“…[ 41 ] Thus, the irradiation experiments were performed using 45 kVp X‐ray spectrum with effective energy of ≈20 keV. Since the inactivation of microorganisms under industrial circs requires delivery the radiation dose of the order of several kGy in a fairly short time, [ 8 ] based on our previous work, [ 42 ] we selected the average GNP size of 12.0 ± 1.3 nm, for which the radiosensitization efficiency was found higher at the greater dose rates.…”

“…For example, the global pandemic of the new coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, which began at the end of 2019, [ 4 ] has intensified the research in the field of using radiation and nuclear technologies for biological safety. [ 5–10 ] Along with chemical and thermal treatment, radiation is an effective tool for inactivation of a wide range of infectious pathogens (in addition to viruses, this includes bacteria, protozoa, fungi, endospores, etc. ); [ 11 ] it stands out among other methods by non‐invasiveness, low cost, and high performance.…”