Characterisation of Herpes Simplex Virus particles by dielectrophoreic crossover methods

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a technique which has been applied to the investigation of the biophysical properties of cells and other micron-scale particles. Recent advances in electrode fabrication have enabled the application of dielectrophoretic techniques to the analysis of sub-micron particles such as latex nanospheres, proteins and viruses. In this paper the dielectrophoretic properties of the human pathogen Herpes Simplex Virus, type 1 (HSV-1) as a function of suspending medium conductivity are presented. This study confirms previous estimates of dielectric properties of the HSV-1 virion. These properties are: surface conductance 3 nS, internal relative permittivity 68, internal conductivity 7 mSm/sup -1/.