Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Interact and Interfere with SARS‐CoV‐2 Surface Proteins and Cell Receptors to Inhibit Infectivity

Abstract

Nanotechnology can offer a number of options against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) acting both extracellularly and intracellularly to the host cells. Here, the aim is to explore graphene oxide (GO), the most studied 2D nanomaterial in biomedical applications, as a nanoscale platform for interaction with SARS‐CoV‐2. Molecular docking analyses of GO sheets on interaction with three different structures: SARS‐CoV‐2 viral spike (open state – 6VYB or closed state – 6VXX), ACE2 (1R42), and the ACE2‐bound spike complex (6M0J) are performed. GO shows high affinity for the surface of all three structures (6M0J, 6VYB and 6VXX). When binding affinities and involved bonding types are compared, GO interacts more strongly with the spike or ACE2, compared to 6M0J. Infection experiments using infectious viral particles from four different clades as classified by Global Initiative on Sharing all Influenza Data (GISAID), are performed for validation purposes. Thin, biological‐grade GO nanoscale (few hundred nanometers in lateral dimension) sheets are able to significantly reduce copies for three different viral clades. This data has demonstrated that GO sheets have the capacity to interact with SARS‐CoV‐2 surface components and disrupt infectivity even in the presence of any mutations on the viral spike. GO nanosheets are proposed to be further explored as a nanoscale platform for development of antiviral strategies against COVID‐19.

Graphene and its Derivatives for Bone Tissue Engineering: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Graphene-Based Scaffolds, Membranes and Coatings

“…Research on graphene-based nanomaterials has boomed in biomaterial applications over the past few years. With outstanding physical, chemical and biological properties, graphene is considered to be revolutionary material and shows great potential for applications in tissue regeneration, drug delivery and other biomedical areas (Hu et al, 2020;Fu et al, 2021;Unal et al, 2021). Therefore, the purpose of this review is to highlight the scientific progress over the years and further summarize the physical and chemical properties, family members and applications in bone tissue engineering of this graphene-based nanomaterial.…”

Fabrication of chitosan-coated mixed spinel ferrite integrated with graphene oxide (GO) for magnetic extraction of viral RNA for potential detection of SARS-CoV-2

“…In this kit, MNPs are used to capture and concentrate the viral-RNA from the COVID patient's sample (DST 2020). Chitosan (CH) and GO are found significant in inhibiting and detecting SARS-CoV-2 [14][15][16][17]. CH, a naturally abundant cationic polymer is insoluble in an aqueous medium but soluble in a weakly acidic medium [18].…”

“…Graphene and its derivatives too have a lot to offer against COVID-19, attributing to their unique properties like thermomechanical durability, piezoelectricity, large-surface area, strong antiviral potency, and so on [21,22]. Graphene derivative GO with the abundance of oxygen-containing -OH, carbonyl (C=O), epoxide, and -COOH functional groups on its basal planes and availability of strong negative surface charge can be used to fabricate better RNA extracted protocol against SARS-COV-2 [17,4]. Among MNPs, ceramics (spinel ferrites, (SFs)) have allured substantial interest attributing to their unusual physicochemical characteristics [23].…”

Fabrication of chitosan-coated mixed spinel ferrite integrated with graphene oxide (GO) for magnetic extraction of viral RNA for potential detection of SARS-CoV-2

“…Kleinet et al concluded that their protocol is suitable for RNA extraction of any type of virus from pharyngeal swabs [ 15 ]. Chitosan (CH) and GO are found significant in inhibiting and detecting SARS-CoV-2 [ 16 – 19 ]. CH, a naturally abundant cationic polymer, is insoluble in an aqueous medium but soluble in a weakly acidic medium [ 20 ], majorly consisting of -NH 2 and hydroxyl (–OH) groups, where –NH 2 group gets converted into soluble –NH 3 + [ 21 ].…”

“…Graphene and its derivatives too have a lot to offer against COVID-19, attributing to their unique properties like thermomechanical durability, piezoelectricity, large surface area, strong antiviral potency, and so on [ 23 , 24 ]. Graphene derivative GO with the abundance of oxygen-containing –OH, carbonyl (C=O), epoxide, and –COOH functional groups on its basal planes and availability of strong negative surface charge can be used to fabricate better RNA-extracted protocol against SARS-COV-2 [ 4 , 19 ]. Among MNPs, ceramics (spinel ferrites (SFs)) have allured substantial interest attributing to their unusual physicochemical characteristics [ 25 ].…”