Preparation of noninfectious arbovirus antigens by sucrose-acetone extraction of gamma-irradiated tissue.

SummaryGamma irradiation of arbovirus-infected suckling mouse tissue provided a means of inactivating the virus in frozen tissue and allowed safe and convenient preparations of arbovirus serologic antigens by the sucrose-acetone extraction procedure. In most cases the irradiated tissues yielded satisfactory hemagglutination (HA) and complement fixing antigens following extraction. With those viruses for which HA activity was reduced by irradiation, sonication during extraction of the dried acetone-insoluble precipitate with saline restored HA titers to levels approaching those obtained with unirradiated tissue. Irradiation avoids the hazards of extraction of infectious tissue, and the extracts may be used for serological studies in laboratories not equipped for manipulation of infectious agents.