A critical review on the inactivation of surface and airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus by ozone gas

COVID-19 pandemic has created chaos inalmost every walk of life. The harsh impactof the disease is mainly rooted to therapid and easy spread of SARS-CoV-2 virusthrough airborne and fomite routes. Thus,disinfection of contaminated surfaces andair is important to hamper COVID-19 disease transmission. Ozone being a potentgaseous disinfectant has been utilized toinactivate a wide-range of viruses and hasmore recently gained interest in the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2. This article criticallyreviews the current state-of-knowledge on disinfection of surface-adhered and airborne SARS-CoV-2by ozone. The transmission and survival characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 alongside the specificity ofozone inactivation process are reviewed. Distinct focus is then given to reviewing the status ofozone inactivation of surface-adhered and airborne SARS-CoV-2 in terms of experimental investigations, kinetics, and influence of the operational factors on the inactivation process. Ozone inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 is compared to other enveloped viruses, and the challenges and futureprospects of ozone inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 are also addressed