Surfactants - Compounds for inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and other enveloped viruses

We provide here a general view on the interactions of surfac-tants with viruses, with a particular emphasis on how such interactions can be controlled and employed for inhibiting the infectivity of enveloped viruses, including coronaviruses. The aim is to provide to interested scientists from different fields, including chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and medicine, an overview of the basic properties of surfactants and (corona) viruses, which are relevant to understanding the interactions between the two. Various types of interactions between sur-factant and virus are important, and they act on different components of a virus such as the lipid envelope, membrane (envelope) proteins and nucleocapsid proteins. Accordingly, this cannot be a detailed account of all relevant aspects but instead a summary that bridges between the different disci-plines. We describe concepts and cover a selection of the relevant literature as an incentive for diving deeper into the relevant material. Our focus is on more recent developments around the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, applications of surfactants against the virus, and on the po-tential future use of surfactants for pandemic relief. We also cover the most important aspects of the historical development of using surfactants in combatting virus infections. We conclude that surfactants are already playing very important roles in various directions of defence against viruses, either directly, as in disinfection, or as carrier components of drug delivery systems for prophylaxis or treatment. By designing tailor-made surfactants, and consequently, advanced formula-tions, one can expect more and more effective use of surfac-tants, either directly as antiviral compounds or as part of more complex formulations.

Automated summary

The article provides a general overview of the interactions between surfactants and viruses, particularly focusing on how to control these interactions to inhibit the infectivity of enveloped viruses, including coronaviruses. Various types of interactions act on different components of a virus. By designing tailor-made surfactants, it is expected to achieve more effective utilization of surfactants in combating viruses.