Skip to main content
. 2020 Jun 23;11:1351. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01351

Table 1.

Overview of applications for biocides that are effective against coronaviruses.

Active ingredient(s) Applicable surface (skin, fomites, air) Food contact (Yes or No) Concentration or Levela References
Food contact surfaces (Zone 1b) Non-food Contact (Zones 2c & 3d) Skin Aerosol
Ethyl alcohol (ethanol) Skin, fomites Yes 70% (v/v) 70 - 95% (v/v) 80% (v/v) N/A Rabenau et al., 2005b; Kampf et al., 2020
Isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) Skin, fomites Yes 70% (v/v) 60–90% (v/v) 75% (v/v) N/A Kratzel et al., 2020
Povidone iodine Skin, fomites No N/A 5–10% (v/v) N/A Gaulin et al., 2011
Quaternary ammonium Fomites Yes <200 ppm 200 ppm N/A N/A Gaulin et al., 2011
Hydrogen peroxide Skin, fomites Yes 35% (v/v) 0.125% (v/v) N/A Gaulin et al., 2011
Sodium hypochlorite Fomites Yes 100–200 ppm >200 ppm N/A N/A Gaulin et al., 2011
Peroxyacetic acid (PAA) Fomites Yes 5–500 ppm 500 ppm N/A N/A Gaulin et al., 2011
Chlorine dioxide Fomites, air Yes 3 ppm N/A 0.03 ppm Miura and Shibata, 2010
Ozone Fomites, air Yes 2 ppm N/A <0.05 ppm Hudson et al., 2007, 2009
Ultraviolet (UV) light Fomites, air Yes 200–280 nm N/A 200–280 nm Kariwa et al., 2006; Walker and Ko, 2007
a

Recommended by US Environmental Protection Agency (Values on table represent general ranges according to the EPA. Always follow EPA label instructions for specific antimicrobial pesticide formulations).

b

Zone 1: Food-Contact Surfaces.

c

Zone 2: Non-food-contact surfaces in close proximity to food and food contact surfaces.

d

Zone 3: More remote non-food-contact surfaces that are in or near the processing areas and could lead to contamination of zones 1 and 2.

N/A, Not applicable.