Virus Removal or Inactivation in Hemoglobin Solutions by Ultrafiltration or Detergent/Solvent Treatment

Abstract

Two procedures to eliminate virus infectivity from hemoglobin solutions at ambient temperature were evaluated. In the first, virus removal was assessed during the ultrafiltration of hemoglobin solutions through a membrane with a nominal molecular weight cut-off of 100, 000 Daltons. The results of this study demonstrated that less than 0.1% of any virus originally spiked into the solution was detectable in the ultrafiltrate. In the second procedure the inactivation of viruses in hemoglobin solutions incubated with tri(n-butyl)phosphate mixed with sodium cholate was studied. Greater than 99% of each of the enveloped viruses tested was inactivated guring the first 15 minutes of incubation with greater than 10 plaque forming units/ml of each being inactivated after one to six hours. No inactivation of the non-enveloped poliovirus was effected by this treatment. The data imply that both ultrafiltration and detergent/solvent incubation may reduce virus infectivity in hemoglobin solutions, but neither method yields a completely virus free product.