Contribution of Nanotechnology in the Fight Against COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory infectious disease caused by a newly discovered virus strain, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-Cov-2). This pandemic spread quickly across nations with a high mortality rate in immunocompromised patients. This contagious disease posed a serious threat to health systems. It impacted the continents of the earth in a way that could not have been predicted. Therefore, many leading funding agencies announced the call for proposal to diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 pandemic using advanced technology-based methods, including nanotechnology. The researchers coming from the nanotechnology community can contribute their efforts to cope with COVID-19. As a community member of nanotechnology, we suggest some new research targets that can be designed and improved, optimized, and developed the existing/new materials in the sub-field of diagnostics and healthcare of nanotechnology. The potential research targets to fight against COVID-19 includes Point-of-care diagnostics (POCD), surveillance and monitoring, novel therapeutics, vaccine development, research, and development, repurposing existing drugs with potential therapeutic applications, development of antiviral nanocoating/antimicrobial spray-based coating for PPE, magnetic nanoparticles and viral RNA and rapid detection kits.

Antimicrobial and anti-viral effects of selenium nanoparticles and selenoprotein based strategies: COVID-19 and beyond

“…Wang et al, demonstrated the potential of Se coatings on polycarbonate medicinal tools where Se coating remarkably inhibited S. aureus growth to 27% after 72 h in comparison with an uncoated polycarbonate surface [ 178 ]. The antimicrobial properties of SeNPs can be effectively harnessed by using disinfectants supplemented with these unique NPs which can be used for effective prevention of this highly contagious viral infection [ 179 , 180 ]. Altogether, these finding demonstrates that SeNPs could be considered as a novel, promising therapeutic strategy against the COVID-19 pandemic and other infections [ 41 , 181 , 182 ].…”

The role of disinfectants and sanitizers during COVID-19 pandemic: advantages and deleterious effects on humans and the environment

“…Low-cost antibody-linked graphene sheets that function as environmental virus sensors have been synthesized; their application as coatings on face masks/PPEs represents a promising strategy to fight COVID-19 by minimizing the risk of transmission (Palmieri and Papi 2020). Moreover, magnetic nanomaterials or nanoparticles can be exploited as efficient alternatives for coating PPEs such as masks and eyeprotecting glasses in order to produce reusable and environmentally friendly antiviral nanocoated PPEs (Tyagi et al 2021). However, antiviral nanoparticles such as silver (Ag), copper (Cu), copper oxide (CuO), and zinc (Zn) have been incorporated on surfaces and PPE textiles, and can be a viable alternative to chemical disinfection processes (Valdez-Salas et al 2021;Ruiz-Hitzky et al 2020).…”

Advances in Nanoarchitectonics of Antimicrobial Tiles and a Quest for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Tiles

“…Metal nanoparticles showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities [ 90 , 91 ]. Incorporating nanoparticles or plant extracts into the tiles increases the reduction potential against microorganisms [ 92 – 94 ].…”