Do microscopic needles kill the virus?

[peter1962]

Hi everyone,

A lot of bus operators are using this product to keep busses covid free for up to a month.

https://zoono.co.uk/pages/our-technolog ... cy-testing

Sounds a bit miraculous to me, but do any of our experts have a view?

Thanks

[Bird on a Fire]

I'm not an expert, but I did find this article which suggests it's effective:

A Kiwi-made water-based sanitiser has tested almost 100 per cent effective against coronavirus for up to 30 days on surfaces and 24 hours on hands.

Zoono's sales increased five-fold since the Australia sharemarket listed company announced on the ASX last week that its lab tests in Britain confirmed the Z-71 microbe shield technology in its sanitiser was 99.99 per cent effective against the current strain of Covid-19 coronavirus.

Tests were conducted by Microbiological Solutions Limited under the European Standard 14476, which specifies minimum requirements for chemical disinfectant and antiseptic products.

Zoono's founder Paul Hyslop said sanitiser, which is made in Auckland, used a process called lysis to form a protective barrier resembling microscopic pins on surfaces that pierced the pathogen.

Hyslop said Zoono had been tested against bovine coronavirus in 2014, but needed to be re-tested against this latest strain.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/indust ... e-fivefold

Coronavirus does have a lipid bilayer, so their proposed mechanism does seem plausible:

The simplest analogy is that antimicrobial “spikes” are formed on the surface that are highly positively charged and as a result of this charge, the negatively charged molecular structure of microorganisms are attracted to the “spikes” and the cell wall and membrane is lysed; the organism is then killed and the process continues.

And they go on to say that:

It is now widely acknowledged that the environment and surfaces are a significant source of microbiological contamination and is considered as a major vehicle for harmful microorganisms to cause infection (cross-infection). Bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeasts contaminate surfaces and in fact can form bio-films that are extremely resilient to hygiene processes i.e. cleaning and disinfection. Harmful microorganisms can be transferred by cross contamination via touch or the air in the form of aerosols (in water droplets) or generally as single cells or “clumps”.

From what I've read I think coronavirus does occur in biofilms so removing them will help.

That said, airborne transmission is also an issue, it doesn't look like these studies are peer-reviewed (there's nothing about zoono at all on google scholar, and I'm struggling to find the generic name of the technology). Note also that so far only alcohol-based disinfectants are recommended by the WHO.

But I'm not sure I'd want to rely on prophylactic use of an emerging technology as my only anti-coronavirus precaution, especially if they're only using it infrequently - no data seems to be provided about how long Zoono persists on surfaces that are constantly being touched, walked on etc.

[Turdly]

From reading the website it appears to be a cationic surfactant (quaternary ammonium mentioned) possibly polymer based. The "microneedles" will be a long alkyl chain to penetrate the membrane which the positively charged amine helps membrane binding.

Probably well-known antimicrobial tech, rebranded for COVID-19.

[peter1962]

Thank you both for these answers. Is the mechanism likely to as effective against viruses in the real world of a bus, as it may be against bacteria in a lab?

[Turdly]

I would have thought it will be moderately effective *if* it stays in place and doesn't get covered in other crap (including the viruses it kills).

My concern would be how robust the coating if it is being routinely washed (I'd hope they are doing that as well). That will depend on the specific surface it is sprayed on.

[peter1962]

I would have thought it will be moderately effective *if* it stays in place and doesn't get covered in other crap (including the viruses it kills).

My concern would be how robust the coating if it is being routinely washed (I'd hope they are doing that as well). That will depend on the specific surface it is sprayed on.

I understand that they're fogging the passenger compartments with it once a month.