Quantitative bioassay of surface-bound prion infectivity.

The unconventional nature of the infectious agent of prion diseases poses a challenge to conventional infection control methodologies. The extra neural tissue distribution of variant and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has increased concern regarding the risk of prion disease transmission via general surgical procedures and highlighted the need for decontamination procedures that can be incorporated into routine processing. This chapter describe a quantitative method for assessing the prionocidal activity of chemical and physical decontamination methods against surface-bound prion infectivity.