tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
QRB Discov
. 2024 Aug 29:5:e6.
doi: 10.1017/qrd.2024.7. eCollection 2024. As air relative humidity increases, infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 decreases within water droplets
Yu Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lei Cao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yu Xia[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Pan Pan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lang Rao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bolei Chen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Richard N Zare[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Water droplets containing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for coronavirus 2019 transmission, were introduced into a controlled-temperature and -humidity chamber. The SARS-CoV-2 virus with green fluorescent protein tag in droplets was used to infect Caco-2 cells, with viability assessed through flow cytometry and microscopic counting. Whereas temperature fluctuations within typical indoor ranges (20°C-30°C) had minimal impact, we observed a notable decrease in infection rate as the surrounding air's relative humidity increased. By investigating humidity levels between 20% and 70%, we identified a threshold of ≥40% relative humidity as most effective in diminishing SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. We also found that damage of the viral proteins under high relative humidity may be responsible for the decrease in their activity. This outcome supports previous research demonstrating a rise in the concentration of reactive oxygen species within water droplets with elevated relative humidity.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; air humidity; microdroplets; reactive oxygen species.
. 2024 Aug 29:5:e6.
doi: 10.1017/qrd.2024.7. eCollection 2024. As air relative humidity increases, infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 decreases within water droplets
Yu Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lei Cao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yu Xia[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Pan Pan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lang Rao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bolei Chen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Richard N Zare[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39687230
- PMCID: PMC11649373
- DOI: 10.1017/qrd.2024.7
Water droplets containing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for coronavirus 2019 transmission, were introduced into a controlled-temperature and -humidity chamber. The SARS-CoV-2 virus with green fluorescent protein tag in droplets was used to infect Caco-2 cells, with viability assessed through flow cytometry and microscopic counting. Whereas temperature fluctuations within typical indoor ranges (20°C-30°C) had minimal impact, we observed a notable decrease in infection rate as the surrounding air's relative humidity increased. By investigating humidity levels between 20% and 70%, we identified a threshold of ≥40% relative humidity as most effective in diminishing SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. We also found that damage of the viral proteins under high relative humidity may be responsible for the decrease in their activity. This outcome supports previous research demonstrating a rise in the concentration of reactive oxygen species within water droplets with elevated relative humidity.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; air humidity; microdroplets; reactive oxygen species.