Natural disinfectants: a potential opportunity to achieve a faster and safer disinfection

Disinfecting in an effective, fast and frequent way

Lately, reopening plans are occurring all around the globe after the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Disinfection regulations are more strict. Now, companies have to disinfect effectively, fast and frequently, as disinfection is only temporary. At the same time, most of the products currently on the market achieve a sufficient level of disinfection, but they compromise the health of the customers or users.

Companies have been bombarded by different options available for disinfection. But what are the differences among them?

We compared more than 400 disinfectant products registered in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) database. The results are shown in the figure below.

EPA-approved disinfectant agents by main active ingredient

Wayakit antiviral disinfectant for surfaces

The tests for all disinfectants were performed using other human coronavirus strains and/or other viruses with similar characteristics.

Besides Wayakit Antiviral Disinfectant for surfaces, the graph shows 11 disinfectant groups categorized by their main active ingredient. The bubble size represents the number of products in each category. The disinfection velocity factor is related to the average contact time that the product needs for virus inactivation. The usage safety factor was calculated based on the harmonized hazard classification of chemical substances (skin irritation/corrosion, eye damage, aspiration toxicity, flammability, aquatic toxicity, and carcinogenicity). Products on the right upper corner show a safer and faster disinfection action. Wayakit Antiviral Disinfectant for surfaces is a mixture of citric acid, cyclic monoterpenes, anionic surfactants, non-ionic surfactants, and oligosaccharides. Wayakit is currently under the EPA registration process. Data revised on May 25th, 2020.

Future research in natural disinfectants

The ingredients of Wayakit Antiviral Disinfectant for surfaces were carefully selected to provide faster disinfection without compromising users' wellbeing.

As shown on the figure above, most of the disinfectant products registered in the EPA are quaternary ammonium salts, chlorine, and peroxides. Only a few emerging disinfectant products with active ingredients of cyclic monoterpenes and citric acid are already in the market. However, the effectiveness of Wayakit antiviral disinfectant to remove 99.999% of CoVid-Sars in only 30 seconds proves that disinfection can be achieved faster and safer. Future research should focus on analyzing how a mix of natural components can guarantee and improve disinfection standards.

About the author:

Luisa Javier is a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Science and Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Currently, she is the CEO of Wayakit, a biotech in hygiene company. Her mission is to integrate science, entrepreneurship, and personal development in projects for the environment.

References:

Environmental Protection Agency. List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2-covid-19