Physicochemical susceptibility of SARS‐CoV‐2 to disinfection and physical approach of prophylaxis

Saadatpour, Fatemeh; Mohammadipanah, Fatemeh

The transmission control of the newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is the most effective strategy by the absence of its specified vaccine or drug. Although the aerosol mediated transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 has been confirmed, the physicochemical treatment of the biotic and abiotic objects is still the most promising approach in its infection control. The front line of the most effective disinfecting compounds on SARS‐CoV‐2 implies to be sodium hypochlorite, ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, quaternary ammonium compounds, and phenolic compounds, respectively. However, widely used compounds of alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (benzalkonium chloride) biguanides (chlorhexidine) have not shown the multitude load reduction in less than 10 minutes. The susceptibility of SARS‐CoV‐2 to physical treatment follows the pattern of heat, acidity, and UV radiation. Rather all of the mentioned physical or chemical treatments, target the envelope proteins of the coronavirus mainly by impairing its entry to host cells. The anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 activity of combinatorial physicochemical treatments or evaluation of new chemical entities or physical treatments such as microwave irradiation still needs to be explored. Therefore, the development of a reliable decontamination protocol for SARS‐CoV‐2 demands revealing its stability pattern study vs a spectrum of single and combinatorial physicochemical parameters.