How are Norovirus’s immune to alcohol based disinfectants?
In: Biology
Norovirus is a non-enveloped virus. Viruses all have a protein capsid, which is a stable geometric shape made of proteins that surround their interior (the genetic material and whatever proteins in there). Some viruses have a lipid layer or a membrane around that capsid, some don’t. If there is that envelope alcohol can disrupt it and destroy it. If there isn’t, alcohol isn’t good at penetrating the protein coat so it cannot destroy the virus.
Same concept holds for 90% vs 70% alcohol on bacteria. The latter penetrates and disrupts the membrane and then goes in to denature proteins killing the bacterium. The former does the same but denature proteins too fast, at a rate that makes the aggregated proteins form a barrier on the periphery of the cell preventing further alcohol from going deeper in. Some bacteria may survive and recover from this that’s why 70% is better.
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