Virucide

A virucide (alternatively spelled viricide[1]) is any physical or chemical agent that deactivates or destroys viruses.[2] The substances are not only virucidal but can be also bactericidal, fungicidal, sporicidal or tuberculocidal.[3]

Virucides are to be used outside the human body, and as such fall into the category of disinfectants (applied not to the human body) and antiseptics (applied to the surface of skin) for those safe enough. Overall, the notion of virucide differs from an antiviral drug such as Aciclovir, which inhibits the proliferation of the virus inside the body.[4][5][6]

CDC's Disinfection and Sterilization list of Chemical Disinfectants mentions and discusses substances such as: alcohol, chlorine and chlorine compounds, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, iodophors, ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA), peracetic acid, peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide, phenolics, quaternary ammonium compounds, with different, but usually potent microbicidal activity.[7][8] Other inactivating agents such as UV light, metals, and ozone exist.[9][10][11][8]

  1. ^ "Medical Definition of VIRUCIDE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  2. ^ "The definition of viricide". Reference.com. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Comparing Different Disinfectants". Stanford Environmental Health & Safety. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  4. ^ "Antiviral drug". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  5. ^ Dolgin E (April 2021). "The race for antiviral drugs to beat COVID - and the next pandemic". Nature. 592 (7854): 340–343. Bibcode:2021Natur.592..340D. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00958-4. PMID 33854246. S2CID 233243982.
  6. ^ Kräusslich HG, Müller B (2008). "Antiviral Drugs". In Offermanns S, Rosenthal W (eds.). Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 196–201. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-38918-7_20. ISBN 978-3-540-38916-3.
  7. ^ "Chemical Disinfectants | Disinfection & Sterilization Guidelines | Guidelines Library | Infection Control | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  8. ^ a b von Rheinbaben F, Wolff MH (2002). Handbuch der viruswirksamen Desinfektion (in German). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-56394-2. ISBN 978-3-642-63179-5.
  9. ^ McDonnell GE, Hansen JM (2021). Block's disinfection, sterilization, and preservation (6th ed.). Philadelphia. ISBN 978-1-4963-8149-1. OCLC 1149169039.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Rutala WA, Weber DJ (June 2019). "Disinfection, sterilization, and antisepsis: An overview". American Journal of Infection Control. 47S: A3–A9. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2019.01.018. PMID 31146848. S2CID 171094212.
  11. ^ "Miscellaneous Inactivating Agents | Disinfection & Sterilization Guidelines | Guidelines Library | Infection Control | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2021-04-11.