Use of ANCHOR viruses to validate radiative, physical and chemical decontamination systems in operational conditions.

OBJECTIVES

Effective disinfection is essential in settings such as high-containment laboratories, healthcare environments and public spaces, particularly for controlling the spread of pathogenic viruses. Current methods for evaluating disinfection efficacy are time-consuming, often lacking adaptability to real-world conditions.

METHODS

In this study, we used ANCHOR tagged auto-fluorescent viruses enabling the detection of infectious particles by high-throughput microscopy. These models were used to mimic viral contamination and evaluate disinfection procedures, such as UV-C LED systems, self-decontaminating surface or chemical disinfection of sensitive areas such as BSL-4 showers and pressurized suits.

RESULTS

Replicative ANCHOR-tagged viruses demonstrated high environmental persistence (particularly hAdV5 and VACV) and retained infectivity profiles suitable for disinfection studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Viral models based on ANCHOR provide a rapid (16h readout), low-risk and miniaturized tool for evaluating disinfection methods. This technology is a significant asset for early development, quality control and validation of disinfection systems under operational conditions. Albeit it cannot replace normative testing yet, this method enables the accelerated and cost-effective development of new disinfection systems.