The Efficacy of Grignard Pure(TM) to Inactivate an Airborne SARS-CoV-2 Surrogate
Grishma Desai, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, Emanuel Goldman, William Esposito, Antony Galione, Altaf Lal, Toni Choueri, Andre Fay, William Jordan, Donald Schaffner, Jack Caravanos, Etienne Grignard, GEDIMINAS MAINELIS,
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Abstract Number: 345
Working Group: Aerosol Science of Infectious Diseases: Lessons and Open Questions on Models, Transmission and Mitigation
AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic spurred a renewed interest and search for safe and effective means to inactivate airborne pathogens, including viruses. Limited research conducted during the 1940s and 50s suggested that triethylene glycol (TEG) could be used against airborne pathogens. TEG is considered a “Safer Chemical” by the EPA; it has been used for many years for theatrical special effects, and also in air fresheners. Grignard Pure
TM (GP) was developed with TEG as the active ingredient, and it also contains water and other ingredients to aid in faster evaporation while preventing fire hazards. Since the active ingredient in GP is TEG, it follows that GP would have antimicrobial properties in the air. This study characterized the efficacy of GP for inactivating MS2 bacteriophage – a nonenveloped virus widely used as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. Experiments conducted in two independent laboratories measured the decrease in airborne viable MS2 concentration in the presence of different concentrations of GP from 15 to 90 minutes while accounting for both natural die-off and settling of MS2. Two different experimental protocols were used: GP aerosol was introduced into the air containing MS2, and airborne MS2 was introduced into the air containing GP aerosol. Overall, we found that GP consistently and rapidly reduced viable MS2 bacteriophage concentration by 2-3 logs at GP concentrations of 0.04 mg/m
3 to 0.5 mg/m
3 (corresponding to TEG concentrations of 0.025 mg/m
3 to 0.287 mg/m
3). GP efficacy experiments by other researchers will also be discussed and compared with our findings. We conclude that GP is indeed an effective antiviral air treatment that could be used to limit indoor airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other airborne viral pathogens.