Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 through Treatment with the Mouth Rinsing Solutions ViruProX® and BacterX® Pro

Julia Koch-Heier,Michael Schindler,Adrian Lussi,Oliver Planz,Helen Hoffmann

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9030521

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic effects daily dental work. Therefore, infection control measures are necessary to prevent infection of dental personnel during dental treatments. The use of a preprocedural mouth rinse with chlorhexidine (CHX), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution for 30–60 s may reduce the viral load and may protect the personnel in a dental practice. In the present study the virucidal effect of the mouth rinsing solutions ViruProX® with 0.05% CPC and 1.5% H2O2 and BacterX® pro containing 0.1% CHX, 0.05% CPC, and 0.005% sodium fluoride (F-) was investigated in vitro. The mouth rinsing solutions successfully inactivated infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles, the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), within 30 s. To determine the effective components, CHX, CPC, H2O2, and a combination of CHX and CPC, were tested against SARS-CoV-2 in addition. While a combination of CPC and CHX as well as CPC alone led to a significant reduction of infectious viral particles, H2O2 and CHX alone had no virucidal effect against SARS-CoV-2. It can be assumed that preprocedural rinsing of the mouth with ViruProX® or BacterX® pro will reduce the viral load in the oral cavity and could thus lower the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in dental practice.

Highlights

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has become a pandemic with more than 111 million confirmed cases and nearly 2.5 million deaths worldwide, making it a significant threat to global health (WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)Dashboard) [1]
Hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly used in mouth rinsing solutions, might be effective against SARS-CoV-2 since some viruses have been shown to be sensitive to H2 O2
BacterX® pro against the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the mouth rinsing solutions were incubated for 30 s with 1 × 106 plaque forming units of SARS-CoV-2 strain FI-100

Summary

Introduction

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has become a pandemic with more than 111 million confirmed cases and nearly 2.5 million deaths worldwide (as of February 2021), making it a significant threat to global health (WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)Dashboard) [1]. Mouth rinsing solutions often contain CHX but its efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 is only moderate and remains controversial [12,13,14]. Hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly used in mouth rinsing solutions, might be effective against SARS-CoV-2 since some viruses have been shown to be sensitive to H2 O2. CPC, a quaternary ammonium compound, which is found in some mouth rinsing solutions, showed virucidal activity against influenza A virus [18,19]. It inactivates the virus by destroying the capsid [10]. Another study demonstrated efficacy of CPC against HCoVNL63 and severe CoV (MERS-CoV) [20]

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