Abstract
The effect of microwave irradiation at reduced temperature on the survival of bacteriophage T4 and T7, which is specific for Escherial coli, was investigated using a commercial 2,450 MHz microwave oven. Both phages were inactivated by microwave irradiation according to first-order reaction kinetics. Inactivation of phage by microwave irradiation is speculated to caused by heat or atomic vibration that is created by the electromagnetic wave. Analysis of the effect of microwave irradiation via agarose gel electrophoresis suggests that the vigorous shaking of molecules/atoms caused by microwave, instead of heat, inactivates the phage via disrupting the phage capsid and damaging the phage genome. Digestion of both unirradiated and irradiated phage samples with the restriction enzyme Kpn I and DNase I further confirm the theory.