Abstract
Discussion and Summary
The present studies would appear to indicate that the rate of reaction of mustard with virus was extremely rapid and that there were chemical groups in influenza virus which rendered them highly susceptible to mustard action. The rapidity of reaction at room temperature was attested by the observation that the greatest portion of the viral population was inactivated during the first minute of mustard-virus interaction. The inability of sodium thiosulfate, a substance reputedly having marked affinity for mustard molecules, to influence the course of events during the first minute of reaction seemingly supported the second of the above premises; presumably thiosulfate failed to compete successfully with virus for the molecules of mustard, thus accounting for the rapid initial destruction of virus. The partially “protective” action of thiosulfate upon destruction of virus by mustard, as reported herein, was confined to events after the first minute of reaction, and was probably related to a tardy combination of thiosulfate and mustard molecules.
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