Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission
Abstract Viruses are vulnerable as they transmit between hosts, and we aimed to exploit this critical window. We found that the ubiquitous, safe, inexpensive and biodegradable small molecule propylene glycol (PG) has robust virucidal activity. Propylene glycol rapidly inactivates a broad range of vi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2023-11-01
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| Series: | EMBO Molecular Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202317932 |
| _version_ | 1827045145929842688 |
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| author | Christine T Styles Jie Zhou Katie E Flight Jonathan C Brown Charlotte Lewis Xinyu Wang Michael Vanden Oever Thomas P Peacock Ziyin Wang Rosie Millns John S O'Neill Alexander Borodavka Joe Grove Wendy S Barclay John S Tregoning Rachel S Edgar |
| author_facet | Christine T Styles Jie Zhou Katie E Flight Jonathan C Brown Charlotte Lewis Xinyu Wang Michael Vanden Oever Thomas P Peacock Ziyin Wang Rosie Millns John S O'Neill Alexander Borodavka Joe Grove Wendy S Barclay John S Tregoning Rachel S Edgar |
| author_sort | Christine T Styles |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Viruses are vulnerable as they transmit between hosts, and we aimed to exploit this critical window. We found that the ubiquitous, safe, inexpensive and biodegradable small molecule propylene glycol (PG) has robust virucidal activity. Propylene glycol rapidly inactivates a broad range of viruses including influenza A, SARS‐CoV‐2 and rotavirus and reduces disease burden in mice when administered intranasally at concentrations commonly found in nasal sprays. Most critically, vaporised PG efficiently abolishes influenza A virus and SARS‐CoV‐2 infectivity within airborne droplets, potently preventing infection at levels well below those tolerated by mammals. We present PG vapour as a first‐in‐class non‐toxic airborne virucide that can prevent transmission of existing and emergent viral pathogens, with clear and immediate implications for public health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:11:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-81c9583b032d41f389c366a3cc12589e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1757-4676 1757-4684 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-18T14:20:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | EMBO Molecular Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-81c9583b032d41f389c366a3cc12589e2024-10-28T08:48:32ZengSpringer NatureEMBO Molecular Medicine1757-46761757-46842023-11-01151211210.15252/emmm.202317932Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmissionChristine T Styles0Jie Zhou1Katie E Flight2Jonathan C Brown3Charlotte Lewis4Xinyu Wang5Michael Vanden Oever6Thomas P Peacock7Ziyin Wang8Rosie Millns9John S O'Neill10Alexander Borodavka11Joe Grove12Wendy S Barclay13John S Tregoning14Rachel S Edgar15Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonMRC‐University of Glasgow Centre for Virus ResearchDepartment of Biochemistry, University of CambridgeDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonMRC Laboratory of Molecular BiologyDepartment of Biochemistry, University of CambridgeMRC‐University of Glasgow Centre for Virus ResearchDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College LondonAbstract Viruses are vulnerable as they transmit between hosts, and we aimed to exploit this critical window. We found that the ubiquitous, safe, inexpensive and biodegradable small molecule propylene glycol (PG) has robust virucidal activity. Propylene glycol rapidly inactivates a broad range of viruses including influenza A, SARS‐CoV‐2 and rotavirus and reduces disease burden in mice when administered intranasally at concentrations commonly found in nasal sprays. Most critically, vaporised PG efficiently abolishes influenza A virus and SARS‐CoV‐2 infectivity within airborne droplets, potently preventing infection at levels well below those tolerated by mammals. We present PG vapour as a first‐in‐class non‐toxic airborne virucide that can prevent transmission of existing and emergent viral pathogens, with clear and immediate implications for public health.https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202317932airborne transmissioninfluenzapropylene glycolSARS‐CoV‐2virucide |
| spellingShingle | Christine T Styles Jie Zhou Katie E Flight Jonathan C Brown Charlotte Lewis Xinyu Wang Michael Vanden Oever Thomas P Peacock Ziyin Wang Rosie Millns John S O'Neill Alexander Borodavka Joe Grove Wendy S Barclay John S Tregoning Rachel S Edgar Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission EMBO Molecular Medicine airborne transmission influenza propylene glycol SARS‐CoV‐2 virucide |
| title | Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission |
| title_full | Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission |
| title_fullStr | Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission |
| title_full_unstemmed | Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission |
| title_short | Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission |
| title_sort | propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission |
| topic | airborne transmission influenza propylene glycol SARS‐CoV‐2 virucide |
| url | https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202317932 |
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