Interaction of Long-Chain Alcohol with Dry Yeast, Cholesterol, and Sea Firefly Luciferase

Background: A hand sanitizer containing alcohol, usually ethanol or isopropanol, is typically used for disinfection, but given that cholesterol is one of the main components of virus envelopes, long-chain alcohol may be more effective. To better understand the potential disinfection activity of long-chain alcohols, we studied their interactions with dry yeast, cholesterol, and sea firefly luciferase. Methods and Results: We measured, at 30oC and 39oC, the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of dry yeast fermentation and the stability of cholesterol and sea firefly luciferase with alcohols, diols, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, and stearyltrimethylammonium chloride. The MIC decreased with the chain length at C≤12 for dry yeast and cholesterol with alcohol at 30oC. At C13 and higher, the cut-off region was observed. At 39oC, the cut-off region shifted to C15 and higher. The reduction of MIC was measured with the diol or sea firefly luciferase at C≤14. Conclusion: The presence of the cut-off region is suggested to be related to whether the alcohol is in the liquid state. For the liquid alcohol, the longer the chain length, the lower the MIC. This suggests a potential disinfection activity of long-chain alcohol.