Recent Progress on Biomaterials Fighting against Viruses

Abstract

Viruses not only pose severe threats to public health, but also influence the development of society. Over the past decade, rapid advances have been seen in the application of nanomaterials to virus research. As an interdisciplinary field, nanotechnology offers powerful functions because the structures of nanomaterials are unique, with remarkable physicochemical properties and excellent biocompatibility. Nanomaterials have been developed for virus detection and tracking and for antiviral strategies, to better understand viruses and reduce viral infections, implying a bright future for this field. Herein, the recent advances are systematically summarized regarding the nanomaterials used in viral studies. Representative applications of nanomaterials to viral detection and tracking are described. The antiviral effects achieved with nanomaterials based on different mechanisms are also described, including entry inhibition, inhibition of viral replication, and immunological enhancement. The current challenges and future opportunities in this promising field are also discussed.

Ultrasmall Copper (I) Sulfide Nanoparticles Prevent Hepatitis B Virus Infection

“…Nanoparticles (NPs) have recently afforded a great breakthrough in biomedicine, [8] and their unique structure, small size and surface chemistry allow NPs to be used as tools to study the viral life cycle [9] and generate antiviral strategies [10] . NPs have so far been used as entry inhibitors, [11] viral replication inhibitors [6] and immunological enhancers [12] in antiviral treatments, and their accurate targeting, efficiency and safety are key factors of these antiviral strategies [13] . Recent researches have ever reported interactions between biomolecules and NPs [14] .…”

“…[10] NPs have so far been used as entry inhibitors, [11] viral replication inhibitors [6] and immunological enhancers [12] in antiviral treatments,a nd their accurate targeting, efficiency and safety are key factors of these antiviral strategies. [13] Recent researches have ever reported interactions between biomolecules and NPs. [14] Chiral NPs have superior capacity in biological recognition.…”

Atomic Chirality and a Materials Revolution

“…Incorporating chirality into drug delivery system and exploiting the chiral compatibility to achieve novel enhancements is just the beginning (Section ). By utilizing chirality in diagnostics technologies and drug delivery, I have witnessed detection at atto to zepta level − and further enhanced therapeutic outcomes, respectively. , Therefore, I expect atomic chirality and its application will create many new platforms for development of novel biomaterials and innovative biotechnologies. , …”

Submolecular Ligand Size and Spacing for Cell Adhesion

“…Modulating ligand nanoassembly [24][25][26] arrays presenting integrin-binding ligands can help to decipher the complex interplay between macrophages and ligand-presenting biomaterials, [27][28][29][30][31] which governs the early host responses that proportionately leads to the long-term host responses. [32,33] Integrin ligationmediated downstream signaling stimulates the assembly of cytoskeletal actin and protein complexes involving myosin II, paxillin, and rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) in adherent macrophages with an elongated shape, [34] which leads to the anti-inflammatory/pro-healing M2 phenotype.…”