Removal and inactivation of human coronavirus surrogates from hard and soft surfaces using disinfectant wipes.

Publication date: Sep 08, 2025

Disinfectant wipes are widely used to reduce microbial contamination on surfaces, yet there is limited information on how viruses are physically removed or chemically inactivated during wiping. This study aimed to address this gap by comparing the contributions of physical removal and chemical inactivation to overall disinfection efficacy. Glass and vinyl coupons were contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 surrogates, bovine coronavirus (BCoV), or human coronavirus OC43, at an initial titer of 5-6 log TCID/surface with 5% soil load. After air drying, coupons were wiped using one of the following treatments: (i) pre-wetted blank polypropylene wipe, (ii) hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-based disinfectant wipe, or (iii) quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based disinfectant wipe. Wiping was performed manually by hand or mechanically using a Gardco Gardner-scrub. The wiping process followed the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency protocol. After a 1 min exposure, residual disinfectant on both coupons and wipes was neutralized separately. Viruses were recovered by sonication for 30 s and quantified using the TCID assay with HRT-18G cells. Using blank wipe, more virus was transferred to the wipe from glass (23%-59%) than vinyl (21%-30%), while less virus remained on glass (2%-5%) than vinyl (16%-24%). No significant difference in virus titers was observed between hand wiping and machine wiping, either on the surfaces or in the used wipes. Both disinfectant wipes reduced >3 log TCID of virus from surfaces, with virus remaining on used wipes below the limit of detection. These results suggest that disinfectant wipes can significantly and rapidly reduce coronavirus contamination and cross-contamination risk. IMPORTANCESurfaces contaminated with respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, pose a potential risk for indirect transmission in public and healthcare settings. This study evaluated the effectiveness of disinfectant wipes in reducing two SARS-CoV-2 surrogates from different surface types within a 1 min contact time. Results showed that both hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-based and quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based disinfectant wipes reduced infectious virus levels by more than 3 logs. Physical removal of viruses was more efficient on hard, nonporous surfaces (glass) compared to soft, non-porous surfaces (vinyl). No significant difference was observed between hand wiping and mechanical wiping, indicating that standard wiping procedures can be consistently effective regardless of method. Importantly, our findings highlight that disinfectant wipes function through both physical removal and chemical inactivation mechanisms. These data support evidence-based recommendations for surface disinfection practices to mitigate coronavirus contamination and reduce the risk of fomite-mediated viral transmission.

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