Functional Carbon Quantum Dots as Medical Countermeasures to Human Coronavirus

Abstract

Therapeutic options for the highly pathogenic human coronavirus (HCoV) infections are urgently needed. Anticoronavirus therapy is however challenging, as coronaviruses are biologically diverse and rapidly mutating. In this work, the antiviral activity of seven different carbon quantum dots (CQDs) for the treatment of human coronavirus HCoV-229E infections was investigated. The first generation of antiviral CQDs was derived from hydrothermal carbonization of ethylenediamine/citric acid as carbon precursors and postmodified with boronic acid ligands. These nanostructures showed a concentration-dependent virus inactivation with an estimated EC 50 of 52 ± 8 μg mL −1 . CQDs derived from 4-aminophenylboronic acid without any further modification resulted in the second-generation of anti-HCoV nanomaterials with an EC 50 lowered to 5.2 ± 0.7 μg mL −1 . The underlying mechanism of action of these CQDs was revealed to be inhibition of HCoV-229E entry that could be due to interaction of the functional groups of the CQDs with HCoV-229E entry receptors; surprisingly, an equally large inhibition activity was observed at the viral replication step.

Targeting arachidonic acid–related metabolites in COVID-19 patients: potential use of drug-loaded nanoparticles

“…Mechanism of action References Aspirin Low-dose aspirin (50 mg daily) has been clinically reported to induce the activity of CYP2C19 in both 7-day and 14-day time course. [16,142] Fenofibrate Antihyperlipidimic drug that has been shown to significantly increase the formation of 14,15-EET, 11,12-EET, and 8,9-EET, and decrease the formation of 20-HETE.…”

An overview of functional nanoparticles as novel emerging antiviral therapeutic agents

“…The same group has also found that carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with different ligand modifications vary in their inhibitory activities against human coronavirus. CQDs derived from ethylenediamine/citric acid were found to show almost no virus inactivation effect, in contrast to excellent virus inhibitory effect with an EC 50 lowered to 5.2 ± 0.7 μg/mL for CQDs prepared by surface modification with 4-aminophenylboronic acid [49].…”

Quantum dots as a promising agent to combat COVID‐19

“…[27] Very recently, Łoczechin et al demonstrated that different CDs prepared by hydrothermal carbonization and conjugation with boronic acid (carbon quantum dots-3) exert antiviral properties against the highly pathogenic human coronavirus in a dose-dependent manner. [28] Further, the functional group of CDs was found to interact with the S protein of human coronavirus-229E, and thus prevent the entry and interaction of the virus with the host cell membrane. Analogously, the benzoxazine monomerderived CDs directly bind to the surface of virions (Japanese encephalitis, Zika, and dengue viruses, porcine parvovirus, and adenovirus-associated virus) and thus impede the virus-host cell interaction.…”