Antiviral Activity of Ag₅IO₆, a Unique Silver Compound

Pentasilver hexaoxoiodate (Ag₅IO₆) has broad-spectrum antimicrobial efficacy, including the long-term prevention of microbial adherence, the rapid killing of planktonic microorganisms, and the elimination of mature biofilms. This study's goal was to determine whether it may also have antiviral activity against structurally distinct viruses. Ag₅IO₆ was tested following ASTM E1052-20, Standard Practice to Assess the Activity of Microbicides Against Viruses in Suspension, against adenovirus type 5, murine norovirus, poliovirus type 1, SARS-CoV-2 (original), and SARS-CoV-2 (omicron) (host cells: H1HeLa, RAW 264.7, LLC-MK2, Vero E6, and Vero E6, respectively). A 0.1 g/mL Ag₅IO₆ suspension was prepared and the viruses were exposed for 30 min, 4 h, or 24 h. Exposure to Ag₅IO₆ resulted in complete kill of SARS-CoV-2 (omicron) within 30 min, as well as complete kill of both SARS-CoV-2 (original) and the murine norovirus within 4 h. Ag₅IO₆ showed increasing activity over time against the adenovirus, but did not achieve a 3-log reduction within 24 h, and showed no antiviral activity against the poliovirus. These results demonstrate that Ag₅IO₆ has antiviral activity against medically important viruses, in addition to its well-characterized antimicrobial activity, suggesting that it may be valuable in situations where the prevention or simultaneous treatment of microbes and viruses are necessary.