Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein entry using biologically modified polyacrylonitrile nanofibers:in vitrostudy towards specific antiviral masks

Abstract

With the increase in the contagiousness rates of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), new strategies are needed to protect people and to halt the from the spread of viruses.

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles/Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers as Impervious Barrier against Viral Infections

“…Regarding the antiviral activity of CeO 2 -PAN NFs via the adsorption mechanism, it was revealed to be attributed to the negative charges that are present on the surface of PAN [ 68 ], which was able to interact with viral host receptors, thus preventing its attachment to host cells and its ability to enter and infect host cells [ 17 , 69 ]. This approach has been previously reported in HIV infection [ 22 ]. With regard to the virucidal antiviral mechanism, it may be accredited to the interaction of our tested composite NFs with viral proteins, specifically the hexon protein, which was amplified using a qPCR assay [ 22 , 52 ].…”

“…This approach has been previously reported in HIV infection [ 22 ]. With regard to the virucidal antiviral mechanism, it may be accredited to the interaction of our tested composite NFs with viral proteins, specifically the hexon protein, which was amplified using a qPCR assay [ 22 , 52 ]. Further insight analysis based on molecular and protein levels is still needed to determine the impact of our materials on other viral proteins that play a major role in viral replication.…”

“…The cytotoxicity concentration (CC 50 ) value of the CeO 2 NPs was determined using the GraphPad ® prism software v.8.0.2. The following equation was used to calculate the viability of cells (%) in relation to the control wells [ 22 , 51 ]: where (A test ) is the mean absorbance of the tested sample, and (A control ) is the mean absorbance of the control sample.…”

“…This was performed using a qPCR assay after nucleic acid extraction and a qPCR assay following the same procedures in our recently published reports [ 22 , 52 ].…”

“…Moreover, they had antiviral activity when previously tested against ADV-5, which is related to the polyanionic nature of the polymer [ 22 ]. Previously, they have been used for mask applications after fabrication and loading with biomaterials such as the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) receptor [ 22 ], a metal–organic framework (MOF) [ 23 ], metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs), such as silver (Ag) [ 24 , 25 ], zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) [ 25 ], and copper oxide (CuO) NPs [ 26 ], graphene oxide [ 27 ], antibacterial agents such as N-halamine [ 28 ], and antiviral agents such as viroblock [ 19 ] and tetrahydropyrimidine (PTHP) [ 29 ]. Blank PAN NFs [ 30 ] and nylon 6-PAN composite nanofibrous mats [ 31 ] have been prepared before and tested for filtration applications.…”