新的涂层技术使用“纳米蠕虫”杀死COVID-19

诸平

Testing the coating. Credit: University of Queensland

据澳大利亚昆士兰大学（University of Queensland简称UQ）2021年9月15日提供的消息，该校研究人员开发出一种能有效杀死导致COVID-19的病毒的涂层（New coating technology uses 'nanoworms' to kill COVID-19），并有望成为防止表面和口罩（face masks）传播的屏障。这种喷洒在口罩上的抗病毒表面涂层技术可以提供一层额外的防护，以抵御COVID-19和流感。

昆士兰大学澳大利亚生物工程和纳米技术研究所（UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology）的研究员迈克尔·蒙泰罗教授（Professor Michael Monteiro）说，这种水性涂层部署了可以攻击病毒蠕虫状结构。“当外科口罩（surgical masks）被喷洒这些‘纳米蠕虫（nanoworms）’时，它会导致SARS-CoV-2的α变种和甲型流感（influenza A）病毒的完全失活。”这种涂层是与波音公司（Boeing）联合研发的，并在墨尔本大学彼德·多尔蒂感染与免疫研究所（Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at The University of Melbourne）进行了测试。

迈克尔·蒙泰罗教授说:“这些聚合物‘纳米蠕虫’破坏了通过咳嗽、打喷嚏或唾液传播的病毒飞沫的薄膜，并破坏了它们的RNA。因为所涉及的化学成分是通用的，所以涂层可以很容易地重新设计，以针对新出现的病毒，并帮助控制未来的大流行疫情。”

迈克尔·蒙泰罗教授表示，口罩将继续是帮助预防或减少COVID-19社区传播的重要组成部分。

他说:“在口罩表面涂上抗病毒涂层可以减少感染，并提供长期的控制措施，以消除表面和气溶胶传播。我们知道，COVID-19在某些表面上的传染性可以持续数小时或数天，并提供了直接感染途径。因此，更强调消除表面和空气传播，对于接种疫苗也是一种补充，以阻止当前新冠疫情的大流行。”

该涂料是环保的，水性的，其合成符合油漆和涂料行业使用的制造技术。相关研究结果于2021年8月23日已经在 ACS Nano杂志网站发表——Valentin A. Bobrin, Sung-Po Chen, Carlos Fitzgerald Grandes Reyes, Bing Sun, Chun Ki Ng, Youry Kim, Damian Purcell, Zhongfan Jia, Wenyi Gu, Jason W. Armstrong, Julie McAuley, Michael J. Monteiro. Water-Borne Nanocoating for Rapid Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses, ACS Nano (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c05075. Publication Date:August 23, 2021. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.1c05075

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Abstract

The rise in coronavirus variants has resulted in surges of the disease across the globe. The mutations in the spike protein on the surface of the virion membrane not only allow for greater transmission but also raise concerns about vaccine effectiveness. Preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, its variants, and other viruses from person to person via airborne or surface transmission requires effective inactivation of the virus. Here, we report a water-borne spray-on coating for the complete inactivation of viral particles and degradation of their RNA. Our nanoworms efficiently bind and, through subsequent large nanoscale conformational changes, rupture the viral membrane and subsequently bind and degrade its RNA. Our coating completely inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (VIC01) and an evolved SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (B.1.1.7 (alpha)), influenza A, and a surrogate capsid pseudovirus expressing the influenza A virus attachment glycoprotein, hemagglutinin. The polygalactose functionality on the nanoworms targets the conserved S2 subunit on the SARS-CoV-2 virion surface spike glycoprotein for stronger binding, and the additional attachment of guanidine groups catalyze the degradation of its RNA genome. Coating surgical masks with our nanoworms resulted in complete inactivation of VIC01 and B.1.1.7, providing a powerful control measure for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. Inactivation was further observed for the influenza A and an AAV-HA capsid pseudovirus, providing broad viral inactivation when using the nanoworm system. The technology described here represents an environmentally friendly coating with a proposed nanomechanical mechanism for inactivation of both enveloped and capsid viruses. The functional nanoworms can be easily modified to target viruses in future pandemics, and is compatible with large scale manufacturing processes.