A Simple Solution for Medical Device Viral Ingress Testing using Bacteriophage

ΦX174 (Phi X 174) can be used as a model for Hepatitis B virus penetration or ingress studies. It is utilized for the following reasons: the significant health risk to staff associated with the testing conducted with human pathogens necessitates that studies be undertaken with non-virulent species such as bacteriophages. Bacteriophage has been utilized as surrogates of mammalian virus in both medical and virology applications. In industry Phi X174 is commonly utilized as a viral surrogate and this model system is based on size, morphology, non-human infectivity, and rapid assay. Phi X 174 closely models blood-borne pathogens like Hepatitis (HCV and HBV) and is employed in barrier penetration studies. It is an ideal blood borne pathogen model because it has no envelope (like HCV), is 27 nm in size (like HCV) and has a nearly spherical geometry (icosahedral), which is similar to HBV, and HCV. It can also be cultivated at high titers similar to HBV and has excellent environmental stability similar to HBV.