The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol 64, 19-28,
Copyright, 1936, by The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research New York
EFFECT OF PURIFIED ENZYMES ON VIRUSES AND GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA
Malcolm H. Merrill M.D.1
1 From the Department of Animal and Plant Pathology of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, Princeton, N. J.
Evidence is presented that some viruses behave like proteins in that they are inactivated by proteolytic enzymes, whereas others prove more or less resistant. Ten strains of living Gram-negative bacteria resisted the action of purified trypsin and chymotrypsin, while the killed organisms were rapidly digested. Gram-positive bacteria, on the other hand, were resistant whether living or dead. The findings are discussed.
Submitted on April 1, 1936