Can Soap REALLY "Kill" the Coronavirus?

Constantly being told to wash your hands? Us too. So were diving into the chemistry behind why soap is so effective against viruses like the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

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Executive Producers:
George Zaidan
Hilary Hudson

Producer:
Andrew Sobey

Writer/Host:
Samantha Jones, PhD

Scientific consultants:
Pall Thordarson, PhD
Michelle Boucher, PhD
Leila Duman, PhD

Special Thanks:
Ruben Rodriguez

SOURCES:
Inactivation of human and avian influenza viruses by potassium oleate of natural soap component through exothermic interaction
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6160177/

Effect of Surfactants on the Survival and Sorption of Viruses
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es0114097

The handiwork of good health
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/The_handiwork_of_good_health

Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195670120300463

Efficacy of various disinfectants against SARS coronavirus
https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(05)00044-7/fulltext

How coronavirus hijacks your cells
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/11/science/how-coronavirus-hijacks-your-cells.html

CDC report on coronavirus research
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/grows-virus-cell-culture.html

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Summary
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html

WHO general coronavirus info
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

The science of soap heres how it kills the coronavirus
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/12/science-soap-kills-coronavirus-alcohol-based-disinfectants?CMP=share_btn_tw

Suspension vs carrier tests (for bacteria)
https://aem.asm.org/content/aem/54/11/2856.full.pdf

Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6483/1260

Mechanisms of Virus Assembly
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4382372/