1887

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Volume 104, Issue 2

A novel antiviral formulation containing caprylic acid inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection of a human bronchial epithelial cell model Open Access

Abstract

A novel proprietary formulation, ViruSAL, has previously been demonstrated to inhibit diverse enveloped viral infections and . We evaluated the ability of ViruSAL to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) infectivity using physiologically relevant models of the human bronchial epithelium, to model early infection of the upper respiratory tract. ViruSAL potently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection of human bronchial epithelial cells cultured as an air–liquid interface (ALI) model, in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Viral infection was completely inhibited when ViruSAL was added to bronchial airway models prior to infection. Importantly, ViruSAL also inhibited viral infection when added to ALI models post-infection. No evidence of cellular toxicity was detected in ViruSAL-treated cells at concentrations that completely abrogated viral infectivity. Moreover, intranasal instillation of ViruSAL to a rat model did not result in any toxicity or pathological changes. Together these findings highlight the potential for ViruSAL as a novel and potent antiviral for use within clinical and prophylactic settings.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): antiviral , caprylate , caprylic acid , coronavirus , enveloped virus and viral envelope
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (Award GOIPG/2019/4432)
    • Principle Award Recipient: SophieO'Reilly
  • UCD Foundation (Award 000)
    • Principle Award Recipient: NicolaF Fletcher
© 2023 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2023-02-14
2024-04-25
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A novel antiviral formulation containing caprylic acid inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection of a human bronchial epithelial cell model
J. Gen. Virol. 104, 001821 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.001821
/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.001821
/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.001821
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