AATCC 100 – Assessing the Antiviral Properties of Textiles
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Overview Of Test Method
- Test and control textiles are cut to swatches of the appropriate size for the study
- A 1.0 ml inoculum volume is applied to sufficient swatches of both the test and control textiles so that the inoculum is fully absorbed.
- A 1.0 ml inoculum volume is also applied to a separate set of control swatches to serve as the “Time Zero” control
- The “Time Zero” control is immediately neutralized and enumerated.
- Additional controls are performed to ensure that the antimicrobial is adequately neutralized.
- The test and control swatches are allowed to incubate at the appropriate temperature for the duration of the contact time.
- At the close of the contact time, the test and control swatches are neutralized and enumerated. The enumeration assay is allowed to incubate.
- The enumeration assay is scored, and calculations are performed to determine the performance of the text textile.
Necessary Modifications
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The contact time may need to be shortened
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The official method calls for a 24 hour contact time. For non-enveloped viruses, this may be acceptable. However, enveloped viruses are much more susceptible to inactivation over time. A 24 hour contact time may result in insufficient virus recovered from the control fabric to make a meaningful comparison to the test fabric’s performance.
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Neutralizing methods may be different
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Dilution with cell culture media, which can be supplemented with chemical neutralizers as necessary, is used as a primary neutralizer. This is followed with passage of the solution through a gel matrix column to physically separate the active ingredient from the virus. This helps to reduce cytotoxicity to the mammalian host cells.
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Turnaround time is longer
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While the original method calls for a 48 hour incubation period for the enumeration assay, viruses need 7-10 days to show visible signs of infection in the host cell monolayer.
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In addition, the preparation of the host cell monolayers can take 2-3 days before testing can occur.
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