Methods and compositions for the selective modification of nucleic acids

An immunogenic composition comprising an effective amount of inactivated virus and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein said inactivated virus is made by a process of incubating said virus with an inactivating agent under viral inactivating conditions, wherein said inactivating agent has the formula:

• ##STR13## wherein each of R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, and R.sub.8 is, independently, H or a monovalent hydrocarbon moiety containing between 1 and 4 carbon atoms, inclusive, provided that R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, and R.sub.8 are not all H;
• R.sub.5 is a divalent hydrocarbon moiety containing between 2 and 4 carbon atoms, inclusive;
• X is a pharmaceutically acceptable counter-ion;
• and n is 1.

A blood-collecting device comprising a container for receiving blood or a blood fraction, the container comprising an inactivating agent in an amount effective to inactivate viruses in the blood or fraction thereof received into the container, wherein the inactivating agent has the formula:

• ##STR14## wherein each of R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, and R.sub.8 is, independently, H or a monovalent hydrocarbon moiety containing between 1 and 4 carbon atoms, inclusive, provided that R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, and R.sub.8 are not all H;
• R.sub.5 is a divalent hydrocarbon moiety containing between 2 and 4 carbon atoms, inclusive;
• X is a pharmaceutically acceptable counter-ion;
• and n is 1.