ULTRACENTRIFUGATION STUDIES ON THE ELEMENTARY BODIES OF VACCINE VIRUS

Abstract

Ultracentrifugal studies of the CL dermal strain of vaccine virus warrant the following conclusions: 1. When suspended in increasing concentrations of sucrose, glycerol, or urea solutions, elementary bodies of vaccinia show variations in sedimentation rate which indicate changes in the density or size of the particles. For a given change in the density of the medium these changes are smallest with sucrose and most marked with urea. The normal rate of sedimentation of Paschen bodies may be restored by resuspending them in dilute buffer solution. 2. The density of elementary bodies of vaccinia suspended in dilute buffer solutions is estimated to be 1.16 gm. per cc. Higher values for the density are found if the particles are suspended in solutions containing sucrose, glycerol, or urea. In 53 per cent sucrose, for example, the density is 1.25 gm. per cc. 3. Paschen bodies appear to be quite permeable to water and urea, less so to glycerol, and only slightly, if at all, to sucrose. 4. The increased density of the elementary bodies of vaccinia in sucrose solutions may be accounted for by an osmotic extraction of water from the particles. On this basis the water which can be thus extracted corresponds to at least a third of the original volume of the particles.