Neutralisation of SARS-CoV-2 by anatomical embalming solutions

Fabio Quondamatteo¹, Dora E Corzo-Leon², Cecilia Brassett³, Ian Colquhoun⁴, David C Davies⁵, Peter Dockery⁶, Sue Grenham⁷, Simon Guild⁸, Amanda Hunter⁹, James Jones¹⁰, Thomas C Lee¹, Chris Tracey², Tracey Wilkinson¹¹, Carol A Munro², Thomas H Gillingwater¹², Simon H Parson²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
² School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
³ Human Anatomy Centre, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
⁴ Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁵ Human Anatomy Unit, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁶ Anatomy, School of Medicine NUI Galway, Galway, Ireland.
⁷ Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁸ School of Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁹ Anatomy Centre, ARU Medical School, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK.
¹⁰ Biomedical Section, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
¹¹ Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK.
¹² Anatomy, Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.

PMID: 34633083
PMCID: PMC8546517
DOI: 10.1111/joa.13549

Neutralisation of SARS-CoV-2 by anatomical embalming solutions

Fabio Quondamatteo et al. J Anat. 2021 Nov.

. 2021 Nov;239(5):1221-1225.

doi: 10.1111/joa.13549. Epub 2021 Oct 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
² School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
³ Human Anatomy Centre, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
⁴ Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁵ Human Anatomy Unit, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁶ Anatomy, School of Medicine NUI Galway, Galway, Ireland.
⁷ Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁸ School of Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁹ Anatomy Centre, ARU Medical School, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK.
¹⁰ Biomedical Section, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
¹¹ Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK.
¹² Anatomy, Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.

PMID: 34633083
PMCID: PMC8546517
DOI: 10.1111/joa.13549

Abstract

Teaching and learning anatomy by using human cadaveric specimens has been a foundation of medical and biomedical teaching for hundreds of years. Therefore, the majority of institutions that teach topographical anatomy rely on body donation programmes to provide specimens for both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching of gross anatomy. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to anatomy teaching because of the suspension of donor acceptance at most institutions. This was largely due to concerns about the potential transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the absence of data about the ability of embalming solutions to neutralise the virus. Twenty embalming solutions commonly used in institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland were tested for their ability to neutralise SARS-CoV-2, using an established cytotoxicity assay. All embalming solutions tested neutralised SARS-CoV-2, with the majority of solutions being effective at high-working dilutions. These results suggest that successful embalming with the tested solutions can neutralise the SARS-CoV-2 virus, thereby facilitating the safe resumption of body donation programmes and cadaveric anatomy teaching.

Keywords: body donation; cadaver; fixation; preservation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

**FIGURE 1**
Schematic representation of the summary of the antiviral performance of the 20 embalming solutions tested at different dilutions starting from a 1:2 up to a 1:256 dilution. Solutions 1–9 (red) neutralised the SARS‐CoV‐2 at all dilutions tested, solutions 10–14 (blue) neutralised the SARS‐CoV‐2 up to a dilution of 1:128, solutions 15 and 16 (green) neutralised the SARS‐CoV‐2 up to a dilution of 1:64, solutions 17–19 (cyan) neutralised the SARS‐CoV‐2 up to a dilution of 1:16 and solution 20 (indigo) neutralised the SARS‐CoV‐2 up to a dilution of 1:4. For details on the content of each solution, see Table 1 and Table S1. For the detailed graphic representation of the performance of each embalming solution, see Figures S1 and S2

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Neutralisation of SARS-CoV-2 by anatomical embalming solutions

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Neutralisation of SARS-CoV-2 by anatomical embalming solutions

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Conflict of interest statement

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