Fig. 1.

The rate of inactivation of a virus depends on temperature following the rate law and Arrhenius equation (a). The effect of a time-varying temperature profile about the mean temperature influences the rate constant, k, for inactivation of a virus and, consequently, the concentration of a virus over time (b). The exponential dependence of the rate constant on temperature results in a higher net rate of inactivation of a virus when incorporating environmental temperature fluctuations about the mean temperature.