Virucidal activity of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide below the critical micelle concentration

Abstract The virucidal activity of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was investigated against a variety of different lipid-containing and non-lipid-containing bacterial viruses and 2 mammalian viruses. In all cases, the maximum virucidal effectiveness was obtained under conditions of low ionic strength and moderately basic pH. The virucidal effect is present well below the critical micelle concentration of CTAB, indicating that the initial interaction with viral surfaces is by monomers of CTAB and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) exhibited no virucidal activity.