Abstract
Autoxidizable synthetic polysaccharides prepared by polycondensation of reducing aldose or ketose in dimethyl sulfoxide containing pohsphorus pentaoxide [Polymer, 13, 190 (1972)] inactivated phage φX174. Another autoxidizable polysaccharides obtained by oxidation of natural glucans with the same oxidant also inactivated φX174. The φX174 inactivation was due to strand scission of viral DNA in the virion. The inactivation reaction was stimulated by Cu2+ and inhibited by EDTA, superoxide dismutase, catalase and several radical scavengers.These results suggest that oxygen radicals produced during autoxidation of polysaccharides are responsible for φX174 inactivation.
