Assessment of antiviral coatings for high-touch surfaces using human coronaviruses HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2021 Jul 21:AEM0109821. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01098-21. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTA novel and robust approach to evaluate the antiviral activity of coatings was developed, assessing three commercially available leave-on surface coating products for efficacy against human coronaviruses HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2. The assessment is based on three criteria that reflect real-life settings, namely (i) immediate antiviral effect, (ii) effect after repeated cleaning of the coated surface, and (iii) antiviral activity in the presence of organic material. The results showed that only a copper compound-based coating successfully met all three criteria. A quaternary ammonium compound-based coating did not meet the second criterion, and a coating based on reactive oxygen species showed no antiviral effect. Moreover, the study demonstrated that HCoV-229E is a relevant SARS-CoV-2 surrogate for such experiments. This new approach allows to benchmark currently available antiviral coatings and future coating developments to avoid unjustified claims. The deployment of efficient antiviral coatings can offer an additional measure to mitigate the risk of transmission of respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 or influenza viruses from high-touch surfaces. Importance SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is transmitted mainly by person-to-person through respiratory droplets whilst the contribution of fomite transmission is less important than suspected at...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research