Figure 3

Inactivation of the HCVcc by UVC light irradiation. Aliquots (200 μl) of an HCVcc stock (A) or normal human serum containing HCVcc (B) were placed 30 cm beneath the longitudinal midpoint of a UVC lamp. Samples were removed at indicated time points, and viral titers were determined on Huh7-25-CD81 cells immediately. The dashed line indicates the detection limit of the FFU assay (10 FFU/ml). The asterisk denotes the time point when infectivity was completely lost (tested negative in FFU assay and remained negative for HCV NS3 expression to the third cell passage). The decay rate of HCVcc infectivity after UVC light irradiation was calculated as 0.067-log/sec and 0.041-log/sec, for HCVcc in culture medium (A) and human serum (B), respectively, after the data were fit to a linear regression model (R² = 0.9738 and 0.9891, respectively).