Scientists may one day be able to destroy viruses in the same way that opera singers break wine glasses. New research mathematically determined the frequencies at which simple viruses could be shaken to death.
The capsid (壳) of a virus is something like the shell of a turtle, said physicist Otto Sankey of Arizona State University. "If the shell can be damaged by mechanical vibrations (震动), the virus can be destroyed. "
Recent experimental evidence has shown that laser (激光) pulses with the right frequency can kill certain viruses. However, locating these resonant (共振的) frequencies is a bit of trial and error. "Experiments must try various conditions, " Sankey said.
To further this search, Sankey and his student Eric Dykeman have developed a way to calculate the vibrations of every atom in a virus shell. From this, they can determine the lowest resonant frequencies. An experiment has recently shown that pulses of laser light can cause destructive vibrations in virus shells. Sankey said, "Like pushing a child on a swing from rest, one sudden push gets the virus shaking. "
However, it is difficult to calculate what sort of push will kill a virus, since there can be millions of atoms in its shell structure. A direct calculation of each atom's movements would take several hundred thousand Gigabytes of computer memory, Sankey explained.
The team plans to use their technique to study other, more complicated viruses. However, it is still a long way from using this to destroy the viruses in infected people. "This is such a new field, and there are so few experiments that the science has not yet had enough time to prove itself, " Sankey said. "We remain skeptical but remain hopeful at the same time. "