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Coronavirus versus 70% Alcohol: Comments and Some Fundamental Definitions

Abstract

The new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is a global problem that is having severe impacts on health systems worldwide. One particular characteristic of this virus is its high transmission rate, which has led to a high demand for personal care materials such as masks, gloves, and alcohol for asepsis. Seventy percent is the ideal concentration for the ethanol used in hand sanitizers; however, this concentration can be expressed in different ways, and, consequently, the different solutions will have different antiseptic activity. In this manuscript we comment on some characteristics of alcohol-based preparations and the different ways of expressing the concentrations.

Keywords:
SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 70% ethanol

Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, n. 580, 05508-000 S. Paulo/SP Brasil, Tel.: (55 11) 3091-3824 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: bjps@usp.br