Inactivation of Prions Using Electrical DC Discharges at Atmospheric Pressure and Ambient Temperature

The ability of DC discharges to inactivate infectious prions was studied using prion cell infectivity assays and direct Western blot analysis of abnormal prion protein. The negative corona discharge of the point‐to‐plane type significantly decreased prion infectivity of mouse RML scrapie brain homogenates within 20 min of exposure. The positive discharge treated liquids display persistent cidal effect, which kills the cell culture and makes it impossible to assess the presence of prions by the cell infectivity assay. The point‐to‐point and ‘cometary’ discharges exhibit only a low ability to inactivate infectious prions. As a possible mechanism of prion inactivation, the formation of insoluble and non‐infective high molecular weight complexes is suggested. magnified image