This latest addition to the Methods in Molecular Medicine series, Anti- ral Methods and Protocols, is opportune because there is an increasing int- est in discovering compounds that are effective against both chronic and acute viral infections. A number of the methods described in the volume are unp- lished and their inclusion indicates the speed at which this field is moving. This volume is not a review but each chapter contains methods validated by the experts who have spent time in developing the protocols. The hallmark of this series is the comprehensive way in which the me- ods are described, which includes a list of all the reagents needed for each protocol. Of importance is the section on tips and pitfalls that the authors have discovered while developing their protocols. The manual itself is designed to be used by researchers in universities and industry who are familiar with a range of biological techniques but who want to set up quickly a novel assay system. We encourage a dialog between readers and authors, which may also result in useful collaborations.

Inhalt
Changing Methods for Discovering Antiviral Drugs.- Changing Methods for Discovering Antiviral Drugs.- Laboratory Safety Considerations.- Laboratory Safety Considerations.- Routine Quality Control Testing of Cell Cultures.- Routine Quality Control Testing of Cell Cultures.- Hepatitis Virus.- Hep AD38 Assay.- Hepatitis B Virus Cell Culture Assays for Antiviral Activity.- A Rapid Microtiter Assay for Duck Hepatitis Virus Reverse Transcriptase.- Assays for Measuring Hepadnaviral Supercoiled DNA.- Assays for Hepatitis B Virus DNA-and RNA-Dependent DNA Polymerase Activities.- Development of a Hepatitis C Virus RNA Helicase High Throughput Assay.- Herpesvirus.- Determination of Viral Infectivity.- Antiviral Screening Assays for Human Herpesviruses 6 and 7.- Strategies for Evaluation of Antiviral Agents Against Epstein-Barr Virus in Culture.- Monitoring Drug Resistance for Herpesviruses.- Herpesvirus Protease Assays.- Human Immunodeficiency Virus.- Testing Compounds for Antiviral Activity in Cell Cultures Infected with HIV.- Evaluation of Compounds That Prevent Reactivation of HIV-1 in OM-10.1 Cells.- Assessment of Activity of Topical Virucidal Agents.- Assays That Measure Selective Killing of Virus-Infected Cells.- Evaluating Clinical Isolates for Their Phenotypic and Genotypic Resistance Against Anti-HIV Drugs.- Line Probe Assay for Detecting Mutations in HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase.- RT-PCR for Amplification of Specific Fragments of HIV-1 Genome.- Evaluation of Compounds Against Recombinant HIV Reverse Transcriptase.- Ultrasensitive Detection of Reverse Transcriptase Activity by the Amp-RT Assay.- Reverse Transcriptase Assay Based on Product Enhancement for Assessing the Drug Susceptibility of Retroviruses.- Identifying and Characterizing HIV Protease Inhibitors.- RetroviralIntegrase.- Human Papilloma Virus.- Papillomavirus DNA Replication.- Quantitative Immunodetection of Viral Oncoprotein Levels in Human Papillomavirus-Transformed Human Cells.- Influenza Virus.- Biochemical Methods for the Characterization of Influenza Viruses with Reduced Sensitivity to 4-Guanidino-Neu5Ac2en.- Virological Methods for the Generation and Characterization of Influenza Viruses with Reduced Sensitivity to 4-Guanidino-Neu5Ac2en.