Chemical inactivation of human immunodeficiency virus in vitro

Most chemicals with potential virucidal activity are extremely cytotoxic even at very small concentrations, thus introducing a number of technical problems and uncertainties in the evaluation of the net virucidal effect. In the present study, an attempt was made to confirm the reported virucidal activity of certain well-known chemicals and a number of new compounds were investigated. The results suggest that HIV inactivation is dependent on the viral concentration, the time of incubation in presence of the putative disinfectant and the degree of virucidal activity of the latter. The data illustrate methodological problems arising from residual cytotoxicity of the chemical which may mask or mimic the presence of a true virucidal activity and lead to erroneous conclusions. Alcohol, the most commonly used disinfectant, was found to be ineffective for high viral concentrations, whilst sodium hypochlorite was the most efficient.