The Lesson Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Can an Active Chemical Be Effective, Safe, Harmless-for-Humans and Low-Cost at a Time? Evidence on Aerosolized Hypochlorous Acid

Mascia Benedusi, Elena Tamburini (), Mariaconcetta Sicurella, Daniela Summa, Francesca Ferrara, Peggy Marconi, Franco Cervellati, Stefania Costa and Giuseppe Valacchi
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Mascia Benedusi: Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Elena Tamburini: Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Mariaconcetta Sicurella: Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Daniela Summa: Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Francesca Ferrara: Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Peggy Marconi: Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Franco Cervellati: Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Stefania Costa: Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Giuseppe Valacchi: Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-22

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of disinfectants as tools to prevent and fight against coronavirus spreading. An ideal disinfectant and sanitizer must be nontoxic to surface contact, noncorrosive, effective, and relatively inexpensive as it is hypochlorous acid (HOCl). The present work intended to evaluate, on different surfaces, the bactericidal and virucidal effectiveness of nebulized HOCl and test its safety usage in 2D and 3D skin and lung models. Our data showed that HOCl at the dose of 300 ppm did not affect cellular and tissue viability, not their morphology. The HOCl bactericidal properties varies with the surface analyzed: 69% for semi-porous, 96–99.9% for flat and porous. This discrepancy was not noticed for the virucidal properties. Overall, this study showed that nebulized HOCl can prevent virus and bacteria growth without affecting lung and skin tissues, making this compound a perfect candidate to sanitize indoor environments.

Keywords: bactericidal; COVID-19 pandemic; hypochlorous acid; indoor sanitization; virucidal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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