Summary
A laboratory virucidal hard-surface efficacy test of hypochlorous acid solution generated on site by EcoloxTech equipment, against murine norovirus — the accepted surrogate for human norovirus, which cannot be routinely cultured. Conducted by Microbac Laboratories Inc., Sterling, Virginia, 8–15 August 2018, sponsored by IET, Inc. dba EcoloxTech.
What was tested
| Test substance | Hypochlorous acid solution generated on site from a sodium chloride solution by Ecolox 240 equipment |
|---|---|
| Free available chlorine | 50 ppm |
| pH | 5 — at which approximately 99% of the available chlorine is present as undissociated hypochlorous acid |
| Organism | Murine norovirus, strain MNV-G, a surrogate for human norovirus |
| Soil load | 5% serum |
| Carrier | Ceramic tile |
| Temperature | 21°C |
| Contact time | 1 minute — the only contact time evaluated |
Result
| Replicate | Log₁₀ reduction |
|---|---|
| 1 | 4.57 |
| 2 | 5.07 |
The report’s conclusion: the solution “passed the Virucidal Hard-Surface Efficacy Test when Murine Norovirus (surrogate for Human Norovirus), containing 5% serum, was exposed to the test substance for 1 minute at 21°C.”
Why the pH matters
A companion report from the same laboratory, run over the same period by the same method, tested a 50 ppm solution at pH 8 and recorded 4.07 and 3.82 log reductions at the same one-minute contact time. Same chlorine concentration, same organism, same soil load, same carrier — the variable is pH.
That pairing is the practical illustration of why near-neutral generation is specified at all. At pH 5 the available chlorine is almost entirely undissociated hypochlorous acid; as pH rises it shifts towards the hypochlorite ion. Two products quoting the same ppm on the label are not necessarily the same solution. See how HOCl works for the underlying chemistry.
What this establishes, and what it does not
It is worth being precise, because this is a strong result and precision is what makes it usable.
- It is a surrogate. Human norovirus cannot be routinely cultured, so murine norovirus is used in its place. That is standard practice and is accepted for this purpose; it is still a surrogate rather than the human virus.
- It is a sponsor-commissioned laboratory report, not a peer-reviewed journal publication. The laboratory is independent and named, the method is a recognised virucidal hard-surface test, and the report is linked in full below so you can read it rather than take our summary of it.
- One contact time, one temperature, one carrier, one soil load. The result describes those conditions. A different surface, a heavier organic load or a lower temperature is a different question.
- It is research, not a product claim. EcoloxTech generators are regulated by the EPA as devices and carry no efficacy claims, and this study does not change that. Our registered product, HOCl-AS200 (EPA Reg. No. 101112-1), carries an accepted label listing murine norovirus MNV-G at a 5-minute contact time — that label figure, not the figure above, is what may be claimed for that product. The two are not in conflict: they are different solutions, tested for different purposes, under different regulatory regimes.
Study details
- Published in: Microbac Laboratories Inc.
Source
Source: Microbac Laboratories Inc.
Conditions tested
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication | Microbac Laboratories Inc |
Reading this responsibly
Published figures are obtained under controlled conditions, usually on clean surfaces or in defined matrices. Organic load, surface condition, temperature and application coverage all affect real-world performance. Use these numbers to design a protocol, then validate it on your own site with environmental swabbing.
Applying it
Concentrations in this range are within the adjustable output of every EcoloxTech commercial system, so implementing this protocol is a settings question rather than a procurement one. Where the claim needs to sit on a registered label, see HOCl-AS200, EPA Reg. No. 101112-1.