The effectiveness of a nonalcoholic disinfectant containing metal ions, with broad antimicrobial activity

Disinfectants have different efficacies depending on their use and the target microorganism. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of our new nonalcoholic disinfectant, which consists mainly of metal ions. According to the 17th revised Japanese Pharmacopoeia and ASTM international E1052 method, the bactericidal and virucidal efficacy of this new disinfectant against 13 microorganisms was evaluated by the in vitro quantitative suspension test. Additionally, the disinfectant cytotoxicity against multiple cell lines was examined. Then, a safety test using a human open patch test was performed with 26 healthy volunteers. This disinfectant showed strong bactericidal and virucidal activities: all microorganisms except enterovirus were inactivated very quickly. The infectivity of 12 microbial strains was eliminated within 5 min of disinfectant exposure. Additionally, this disinfectant showed little acute cytotoxicity in vitro. All volunteers were negative in the human open patch test. Our new disinfectant has a broad spectrum of microbial targets, is safe for human skin, and demonstrates no cytotoxicity. This disinfectant could prevent common microbial infections.