A simple method for the in vitro study of the virucidal activity of disinfectants

For the study of the virucidal activity of a disinfectant by the gel filtra tion or the dilution methods, the concentration of virus has to be high eno ugh to determine a decrease in titer of at least 4 logarithm units. A filtr ation technique for rapid separation of the disinfectant and the virus is d escribed that overcome this limitation. The method is applicable to any che mical compound and gives results equivalent to those of the techniques requ ired by the French norms (NF T 72-180). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.