RAPID INACTIVATION OF HIV-1 IN SINGLE-DONOR PREPARATIONS OF HUMAN FRESH-FROZEN PLASMA BY METHYLENE-BLUE LIGHT TREATMENT

Human fresh frozen plasma (FFP) was spiked with highly titered HIV-I and illuminated with visible light in the presence of 1 mu M of the photoactive dye methylene blue (MB). As shown by titration on MT-4 cells, the infectivity of the virus containing plasma was rapidly lost during illumination: after 5 min the infective titer was reduced by 4.3 and after 10 min by at least 6.32 log(10), i.e. it was below the detection limit of the assay applied. Methylene blue without illumination and illumination alone had only a marginal effect on HIV-I infectivity. Thus our data indicate that the MB/light treatment of FFP is an effective method to eliminate the risk of HIV-1 infection through use of the product. This is especially important for those cases in which the plasma is collected during the 'window period' between infection of the donor and the subsequent seroconversion.