Potential Mucosal Irritation Discrimination of Surface Disinfectants Employed against SARS-CoV-2 by Limacus flavus Slug Mucosal Irritation Assay

Marco Alfio Cutuli,Katia Mangano,Ferdinando Nicoletti,Laura Pietrangelo,Irene Magnifico,Roberto Di Marco,Giulio Petronio Petronio,Antonio Guarnieri,Laura Recchia,Noemi Venditti

doi:10.3390/biomedicines9040424

Marco Alfio Cutuli, Katia Mangano + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9040424

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Journal: Biomedicines	Publication Date: Apr 14, 2021
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Catania, University of Molise

Abstract

Preventive measures have proven to be the most effective strategy to counteract the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Among these, disinfection is strongly suggested by international health organizations’ official guidelines. As a consequence, the increase of disinfectants handling is going to expose people to the risk of eyes, mouth, nose, and mucous membranes accidental irritation. To assess mucosal irritation, previous studies employed the snail Arion lusitanicus as the mucosal model in Slug Mucosal Irritation (SMI) assay. The obtained results confirmed snails as a suitable experimental model for their anatomical characteristics superimposable to the human mucosae and the different easily observed readouts. Another terrestrial gastropod, Limacus flavus, also known as “ Yellow slug “, due to its larger size and greater longevity, has already been proposed as an SMI assay alternative model. In this study, for the first time, in addition to the standard parameters recorded in the SMI test, the production of yellow pigment in response to irritants, unique to the snail L. flavus, was evaluated. Our results showed that this species would be a promising model for mucosal irritation studies. The study conducted testing among all those chemical solutions most commonly recommended against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Highlights

The disinfection practice involves the actuation of physical procedures and/or chemical or biological products to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms
It appears the first preventive practice against the development and spreading of infectious diseases caused by various pathogens, among them the SARS-CoV-2 virus [1,2,3]
For the first time, in addition to the standard parameters recorded in the Slug Mucosal Irritation (SMI) test, the secretion of the characteristic yellow mucus pigment of L. flavus was evaluated as a readout of the irritation response

Summary

Introduction

The disinfection practice involves the actuation of physical procedures and/or chemical or biological products to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms. The SARS-CoV-2, being an enveloped virus, is poorly resistant to acids, detergents, disinfectants, drying, and heat, it is quite susceptible to disinfection [7,8,9]

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