Novel amphiphilic compounds effectively inactivate the vaccinia virus

► Artificial ribonucleases (aRNases) do inactivate the enveloped DNA-containing vaccinia virus. ► Amphyphilic aRNases posses chaotropic, membranolytic and ribonuclease activities. ► Vaccinia virus inactivation was caused by altering the structure of viral surface proteins and membrane disruption. ► Amphyphilic aRNases are novel universal agents inactivating both RNA- and DNA-containing viruses.