Evaluation of Earth Sense® Neutral Disinfectant Detergent as an Alternative to Micro-Chem Plus™ Detergent Disinfectant for Use in BSL-4 Laboratories using Vesicular Stomatitis Virus as a Surrogate

Abstract

Micro-Chem Plus (MCP) detergent disinfectant cleaner is a common chemical disinfectant currently used at most biosafety level 4 laboratories to ensure proper disinfection and decontamination of waste contaminated with risk group 4 agents. However, similar to a number of disinfectants, MCP contains surfactants known as nonylphenol ethoxylates that are considered highly toxic to the aquatic environment. An alternate disinfectant, Earth Sense (ES) neutral disinfection detergent, was identified as one that lacks nonylphenol ethoxylates. This study compares the virucidal efficacy profiles of both MCP and ES using Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) as a surrogate for risk group 4 agents. Results indicate that a 5% solution of ES with a contact time of 5 minutes was comparable to 5% MCP solution and reduced VSV titer by at least 6 log10. In addition, both 5% solutions of ES and MCP disinfectants were stable for at least 5 months and were able to inactivate 6 log10 of VSV. These results demonstrate that ES detergent may be a potential option to replace MCP as a suitable disinfectant against risk group 4 agents due to its comparable virucidal efficacy as well as its greener environmental profile.