Can ozone inactivate SARS-CoV-2? A review of mechanisms and performance on viruses

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 415; p. 125658
• Main Authors: Bayarri, Bernardí, Cruz-Alcalde, Alberto, López-Vinent, Núria, Micó, María M., Sans, Carme
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 05.08.2021; The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V
• Subjects: Aerosols; COVID-19; Enveloped viruses; Fomites; Humans; Inactivation; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype; Ozonation; Ozone; Review; SARS-CoV-2; Virus Inactivation; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Fomites; Enveloped viruses; Ozonation; Aerosols; Inactivation
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125658

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has challenged societies around the globe. Technologies based on ozone, a powerful oxidant, have been evaluated to inactivate this virus in aerosols and fomites. However, the high data diversity hinders the possibility of establishing a common ground for determining best practices for the use of these technologies. Furthermore, there is a lack of consensus regarding which are the main mechanisms of ozone virus inactivation. This critical review examined the most relevant information available regarding ozone application in gas-phase for different viruses inactivation (including recent publications dealing with SARS-CoV-2), and pointed towards envelope alteration as the main reaction pathway for enveloped viruses, such as is the case of SARS-CoV-2. It could also be concluded that gaseous ozone can be indeed an effective disinfectant, successfully inactivating viruses such us influenza A H1N1, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1 or even SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols or fomites. In reviewed works, low ozone exposures, just around 0.1–0.4 mg L-1 min, achieve about 4 log10 of inactivation in aerosols, while exposures between 1 and 4 mg L-1 min may be needed to guarantee an inactivation of 3–4 log10 in different fomites. Although further studies are required, ozone is an effective candidate to be used against SARS-CoV-2 or other viruses in surfaces and indoor locations. [Display omitted] •Ozone is a powerful oxidant suitable for inactivating virus similar to SARS-CoV-2.•Ozone achieves a high inactivation for most of the tested viruses.•Ozone exposure, humidity and matrices are key parameters of the process.•The mechanism of inactivation of non-enveloped viruses by ozone is controversial.•For enveloped viruses, main inactivation route seems to occur via envelope damage.