Novel chlorine-extending polymer coating with prolonged antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2

We previously reported a novel polymeric surface coating, namely, HaloFilm™ that can immobilize and extend the antimicrobial activity of chlorine on surfaces. In this study, we demonstrated the continuous antiviral efficacy of HaloFilm when applied on stainless steel and cotton gauze as two representative models for non-porous and porous surfaces against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Forty-eight hours post HaloFilm application and chlorination and 2 h post the viral challenge, the inoculum titre was reduced by 2.25 ± 0.33 and ≥4.36 ± 0.23 log₁₀ TCID₅₀ on non-porous and porous surfaces, respectively. The half-life of the virus was shorter (13.86 min) on a HaloFilm-coated surface than what has been reported on copper (46.44 min).