Use of Ocudox™ or hypochlorous acid to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 as an alternative to alcohol-based products

Objective: The main route of entry of SARS-CoV-2 which responsible of COVID-19 is through the nasal, oral, or conjunctival mucosa and droplets or aerosols transmit the virus. Even if transmission through fomites is considered unlikely, hand hygiene is important to minimize this and other infections, especially in certain scenarios as healthcare facilities and crowded places as public transport or social events. Material and methods: In this study, we assess and compare the virucidal efficacy of HOCl solutions against SARS-CoV-2 at different time-points. a nasopharyngeal swab collected from an 89-year-old male patient during March 2020 in Catalonia, Spain (GISEAD ID EPI_ISL_510689). The virus was propagated in Vero E6 cells (ATCC CRL-1586) cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium (DMEM). A total of 24 plastic plates (35 mm SPL Ref. PLC20035) for the first study, and 12 plates for the second one, were prepared. One day before titration, 96-well plates were prepared with Vero E6 cells. The day of titration, two replicates of five 10-fold serial dilutions of each sample were performed. Plates were incubated at 37°C and 5% CO2 for 7 days, and afterward, SARS-CoV-2-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) was determined under light microscope Results: The virucidal effect by means of TCID50/mL found after HOCl treatment at different concentrations and times tested. Logarithmic reduction (logR) and the correspondent percentage of inactivation (%) were calculated compared to the untreated controls (desiccated SARS-CoV-2 with water or media). All tested concentrations were able to partially inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Conclusion: Our studies showed that HOCl products represent a valid virucidal alternative to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 potentially present in skin or surfaces.