Viricidal Efficacy of a 405‐nm Environmental Decontamination System for Inactivation of Bacteriophage Phi6: Surrogate for SARS‐CoV‐2

The highly transmittable nature of SARS‐CoV‐2 has increased the necessity for novel strategies to safely decontaminate public areas. This study investigates the efficacy of a low irradiance 405‐nm light environmental decontamination system for the inactivation of bacteriophage phi6 as a surrogate for SARS‐CoV‐2. Bacteriophage phi6 was exposed to increasing doses of low irradiance (~0.5 mW cm−2) 405‐nm light while suspended in SM buffer and artificial human saliva at low (~103–4 PFU mL−1) and high (~107–8 PFU mL−1) seeding densities, to determine system efficacy for SARS‐CoV‐2 inactivation and establish the influence of biologically relevant suspension media on viral susceptibility. Complete/near‐complete (≥99.4%) inactivation was demonstrated in all cases, with significantly enhanced reductions observed in biologically relevant media (P