Title : Applications of an iodine-based disinfectant with immediate and long-lasting efficiency. Avian influenza virus inactivation effect by iodine-doped activated carbon
Abstract:
Abstract: Since the end of 20th century, outbreaks of such emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases as avian influenza, classical swine fever (CSF), African swine fever (ASF), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have successively occurred in the world. These diseases are causing serious consequences both to animals and humans, and also triggered economic and social crises. Since all of these diseases are zoonosis, causative agents are transmitted from animals to humans, and it is needed to establish disease control strategies other than ones involving only human-to-human transmission.
In Japan, since 1949, in compliance with the "Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control", slaked lime has been used as exclusive treatment for livestock quarantine (and now 70 years have passed). Although its efficacy due to the strong alkalinity is acknowledged, after spread in the environment slaked lime readily reacts with carbon dioxide in the air (carbonation), undergoing a pH decrease and a fall of disinfection efficiency.
Therefore, the development of an alternative disinfectant capable to overcome the disadvantages of slaked lime is a crucial priority. We replied to this urgency by producing an innovative material called IodAC®, characterized by a high concentration of elemental iodine stably impregnated on activated carbon. The disinfecting components, indeed, do not volatilize up to 150°C and do not easily elute if the material is soaked in water.
IodAC® has a proven long-lasting antiseptic efficiency: bacteria and viruses are trapped in the pores of activated carbon granules, where elemental iodine, having a very broad antimicrobial spectrum, kills them. As reported by our laboratory experiments on the H5 avian influenza virus, IodAC® showed the ability to reduce the viral titer to 1/10,000,000 in 10 minutes.
IodAC® has the potential to be employed to control livestock infectious zoonoses by using it as feed additive (for example, adding it to poultry feed to prevent avian influenza). Indeed, IodAC® will inactivate the pathogens directly inside the intestinal tract of the animal, according to the abovementioned attributes of the material, and, lastly, will be expelled with the feces
These results open up a wide range of applications in the life sciences and medical technology (both veterinary medicine and human medicine).
