Ethanol treatment of tendon allografts: a potential HIV inactivating procedure.

The penetration rate of ethanol in human tendons was studied to in order to define the conditions which were necessary to achieve an inactivating concentration against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) within the tendon. The rate of alcohol penetration was found to be slow and did not differ with different types of tendons. An average ethanol concentration of 14% (v/v) was measured in human tendons after they had been immersed for 2 h in 70% (v/v) ethanol, and a concentration of 19% (v/v) was reached after 3 h. Ethanol immersion of human tendons may represent an additional safety procedure in inactivating the HIV virus provided the duration is at least 3 h.