Inactivation of HCV and HIV by microwave: a novel approach for prevention of virus transmission among people who inject drugs

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) transmissions among people who inject drugs (PWID) continue to pose a challenging global health problem. Here, we aimed to analyse a universally applicable inactivation procedure, namely microwave irradiation, as a safe and effective method to reduce the risk of viral transmission. The exposure of HCV from different genotypes to microwave irradiation resulted in a significant reduction of viral infectivity. Furthermore, microwave irradiation reduced viral infectivity of HIV-1 and of HCV/HIV-1 suspensions indicating that this inactivation may be effective at preventing co-infections. To translate microwave irradiation as prevention method to used drug preparation equipment, we could further show that HCV as well as HIV-1 infectivity could be abrogated in syringes and filters. This study demonstrates the power of microwave irradiation for the reduction of viral transmission and establishment of this safety strategy could help reduce the transmission of blood-borne viruses.

Theoretical Analysis of the Induction of Forced Resonance Mechanical Oscillations to Virus Particles by Microwave Irradiation:Prospects as an Anti-virus Modality

“…After computing the pressure field as given in eq. (16) it is shown that the "form factor" W is a function of the dimensionless…”

“…It is observed that under physiological conditions of salinity and acidity, virus capsid assembly requires the presence of genomic material that is oppositely charged to the core proteins 10 . Furthermore, few researchers have focused their research on the possibility of inducing photon-phonon interactions 11 in virions, which are the virus causing infections 12,13,14,15,16,17 .…”

Microwave- and heat-based decontamination of N95 filtering facepiece respirators: a systematic review

“…For example, not all institutions have access to large UV lamps, and chemical disinfection may cause significant damage to FFRs or leave hazardous residues [ 19 , 20 ]. Microwaves and heat are known to inactivate viruses and bacteria [ [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] ], including coronaviruses [ 26 , 27 ], and can be accessible and affordable [ 28 ]; however, heat and humidity may impact the electrostatic charges that confer the high filtration efficiency of the polypropylene filter in N95 FFRs [ [29] , [30] , [31] ].…”

Ultra‐directive palm tree Vivaldi antenna with 3D substrate lens for μ‐biological near‐field microwave reduction applications

“…In contrast, microwave reduction and sterilization techniques are as efficient as those traditional methods, but they do not compromise polymer packaging, and can be applied even with the medium. 1,2 Microwave-related techniques have received great attention over the last decade, [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] . In the microwave technique, microorganisms undergo non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, with frequency spectrum ranging from 300 MHz to 300 GHz, respectively with wavelengths from 1 km to 1 mm and energies from 1.24 μeV to 1.24 meV.…”

“…Microwave‐related techniques have received great attention over the last decade,. In the microwave technique, microorganisms undergo non‐ionizing electromagnetic radiation, with frequency spectrum ranging from 300 MHz to 300 GHz, respectively with wavelengths from 1 km to 1 mm and energies from 1.24 μeV to 1.24 meV …”