The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic is demanding the rapid action of the authorities and scientific community in order to find new antimicrobial solutions that could inactivate the pathogen SARS-CoV-2 that causes this disease. Gram-positive bacteria contribute to severe pneumonia associated with COVID-19, and their resistance to antibiotics is exponentially increasing. In this regard, non-woven fabrics are currently used for the fabrication of infection prevention clothing such as face masks, caps, scrubs, shirts, trousers, disposable gowns, overalls, hoods, aprons and shoe covers as protective tools against viral and bacterial infections. However, these non-woven fabrics are made of materials that do not exhibit intrinsic antimicrobial activity. Thus, we have here developed non-woven fabrics with antimicrobial coatings of cranberry extracts capable of inactivating enveloped viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and the bacteriophage phi 6 (about 99% of viral inactivation in 1 min of viral contact), and two multidrug-resistant bacteria: the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. The morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of the produced filters were characterized by optical and electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The non-toxicity of these advanced technologies was ensured using a Caenorhabditis elegans in vivo model. These results open up a new prevention path using natural and biodegradable compounds for the fabrication of infection prevention clothing in the current COVID-19 pandemic and microbial resistant era.
Infection prevention
clothing is becoming an essential protective
tool in the current pandemic, especially because now we know that
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can easily
infect humans in poorly ventilated indoor spaces. However, commercial
infection prevention clothing is made of fabrics that are not capable
of inactivating the virus. Therefore, viral infections of symptomatic
and asymptomatic individuals wearing protective clothing such as masks
can occur through aerosol transmission or by contact with the contaminated
surfaces of the masks, which are suspected as an increasing source
of highly infectious biological waste. Herein, we report an easy fabrication
method of a novel antiviral non-woven fabric containing polymer filaments
that were coated with solidified hand soap. This extra protective
fabric is capable of inactivating enveloped viruses such as SARS-CoV-2
and phage Φ6 within 1 min of contact. In this study, this antiviral
fabric was used to fabricate an antiviral face mask and did not show
any cytotoxic effect in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Furthermore,
this antiviral non-woven fabric could be used for the fabrication
of other infection prevention clothing such as caps, scrubs, shirts,
trousers, disposable gowns, overalls, hoods, aprons, and shoe covers.
Therefore, this low-cost technology could provide a wide range of
infection-protective tools to combat COVID-19 and future pandemics
in developed and underdeveloped countries.
The current pandemic is urgently demanding the development of alternative materials capable of inactivating the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease. Calcium alginate is a crosslinked hydrophilic biopolymer with an immense range of biomedical applications due to its excellent chemical, physical, and biological properties. In this study, the cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of calcium alginate in the form of films were studied. The results showed that these films, prepared by solvent casting and subsequent crosslinking with calcium cations, are biocompatible in human keratinocytes and are capable of inactivating enveloped viruses such as bacteriophage phi 6 with a 1.43-log reduction (94.92% viral inactivation) and SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant with a 1.64-log reduction (96.94% viral inactivation) in virus titers. The antiviral activity of these calcium alginate films can be attributed to its compacted negative charges that may bind to viral envelopes inactivating membrane receptors.
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