BACKGROUND Duabanga grandiflora or known in Malaysia as Berembang Bukit, Megawasih, or Pedada Bukit, is a native plant of the Southeast Asian countries. In this study, the anti-viral properties of D. grandiflora were investigated. METHODS The D. grandiflora leaf extracts were obtained with ethyl acetate, hexane, and ethanol as solvents and labelled 37 leaf ethyl acetate (37 L EA), 37 leaf hex...

Human viral contamination in drinking and recreational waters poses health risks. The application of PCR-based molecular technology has advanced our knowledge of the occurrence and prevalence of human viruses in water; however, it has provided no information on viral viability and infectivity. Four human cell lines were compared for their sensitivity to different serotypes of human adenoviruses...

The plaque assay has long served as the "gold standard" to measure virus infectivity and test antiviral drugs, but the assay is labor-intensive, lacks sensitivity, uses excessive reagents, and is hard to automate. Recent modification of the assay to exploit flow-enhanced virus spread with quantitative imaging has increased its sensitivity. Here we performed flow-enhanced infection assays in mic...

The plaque assay is the traditional method for the quantification of bacteriophage, particularly for lambda cloning vectors. Unfortunately, this technique is fraught with procedural difficulties, and the quality of the data obtained from this "gold standard" assay may be inaccurate due to the subjective interpretation of the results. The application of quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) technolo...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of lower respiratory infection of children. Understanding RSV pathogenesis and evaluating interventions requires quantitative RSV testing. Previous studies have used the plaque assay technique. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RTrtPCR) offers possible greater sensitivity, stability after freeze/thaw, and lower cost, thus facilitatin...

METHODS. A reporter HSV-2 virus, which expresses -galactosidase, was used to quantify entry into RPE cells, and viral replication was ascertained using a plaque assay. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry were used to determine cellular expression of entry receptors. Localization of these receptors to the apical or basal surface of RPE cells was determined with immunocytochemistry. The necess...

Empirical scanning of natural or engineered peptide sequences for functional residues is inherently dependent upon efficient expression of large numbers of individual sequence variants to assay their relative functional potency. The insect baculovirus system has been widely used for expression of viral coat proteins, but it generally requires prior isolation and expansion of a plaque-purified r...

Background: An andrographolide analogue, 3,19-isopropylideneandrographolide (IPAD), exert an inhibitory effect on herpes simplex virus serotype 1 (HSV-1) wild types replication. In this study, we examined the anti-viral activity of IPAD on HSV-1 and HSV-2 wild types and HSV-1 drug-resistant strains (DRs). Synergistic effects of IPAD with ACV were also evaluated. Methods: MTT and plaque reductio...

BACKGROUND The role of relative humidity in the aerosol transmission of influenza was examined in a simulated examination room containing coughing and breathing manikins. METHODS Nebulized influenza was coughed into the examination room and Bioaerosol samplers collected size-fractionated aerosols (<1 µM, 1-4 µM, and >4 µM aerodynamic diameters) adjacent to the breathing manikin's mouth and al...