Antiviral Filtering Capacity of GO-Coated Textiles

Abstract

Background. New antiviral textiles for the protection and prevention of life-threatening viral diseases are needed. Graphene oxide derivatives are versatile substances that can be combined with fabrics by different green electrochemistry methods. Methods In this study, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were combined with textile samples to study GO antiviral potential. GO synthesized in the Chemistry laboratories at the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy) and characterized with TEM/EDX, XRD, TGA, Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR, was applied at three different concentrations to linen textiles with the hot-dip and dry method to obtain filters. The GO-treated textiles were tested to prevent infection of a human glioblastoma cell line (U373) with human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A). Green electrochemical exfoliation of graphite into the oxidized graphene nanosheets provides a final GO-based product suitable for a virus interaction, mainly depending on the double layer of nanosheets, their corresponding nanometric sizes, and Z-potential value. Results Since GO-treated filters were able to prevent infection of cells in a dose-dependent fashion, our results suggest that GO may exert antiviral properties that can be exploited for medical devices and general use fabrics.

Emerging Trends and Future Direction of Graphene Family of Materials as Potential Antimicrobials: A Critical Review

“…In the case of enveloped viruses, it is the electrostatic interaction between GO and oppositely charged lipids which leads to viral inhibition. A recent study conducted by Valentini et al assessed the ability of GO-coated fabrics to filter infection caused by the enveloped human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) in human glioblastoma cells (U373) . This research provides the ability to design graphene-based diagnostic equipment to combat and prevent the transmission of viral infections by partially filling pores of the fabric.…”

“…A recent study conducted by Valentini et al assessed the ability of GO-coated fabrics to filter infection caused by the enveloped human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) in human glioblastoma cells (U373). 117 This research provides the ability to design graphene-based diagnostic equipment to combat and prevent the transmission of viral infections by partially filling pores of the fabric. Apart from the mechanical blockage, there is also an observation of increased ζ-potential when viral particles bind to GO-fabric, indicating simultaneous electrostatic and bioreduction processes.…”

Antiviral efficacy of nanomaterial-treated textiles in real-life like exposure conditions

“…ZnO films have been used to coat nanofibrous electrospun silk-polyethylene oxide material for antiviral purposes [ 12 ] and ZnO nanoparticles coupled with (3-Glycidoxypropyl) trimethoxysilane have been used to create antiviral cotton fabric [ 13 ]. Selenium nanoparticles as part of acrylate-based printing paste have been used to print antiviral polyester fabrics [ 14 ] and nano-graphene oxide coating was used in two studies that aimed to prepare antiviral PET textile and linen [ 15 , 16 ]. Also organic antivirals, such as sodium pentaborate, triclosan and glucopon as well as liquid soap formulation have been used to achieve antiviral covering [ 17 , 18 ].…”

“…CuI nanoparticles treated textiles decreased the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 only up to 2.5 logs during 24 h incubation [ 11 ], Cu-impregnated cotton decreased the infectious titer of influenza A virus by ≥ 2 log during 30 min and other type of Cu-coated textile exhibited only a maximum of 1–2 log decrease in infectivity of vaccinia virus, herpes simplex virus type 1 and influenza A virus H1N1 during 2 h [ 9 ]. Most of other nanomaterial-based textiles involving either ZnO, selenium or graphene oxide surface coatings, have shown antiviral activity between 1 and 2 log decrease of infectious units during 1–2 h [ [12] , [13] , [14] , 16 ]. In terms of the duration of exposure, the shortest contact time during which significant (1.5 log) decrease of viral infectivity was observed was 1 min in case of liquid soap treated face masks [ 18 ].…”

“…In some specific cases, where textiles are designed for filtering purposes, filtering of viral stock through the textile (e.g., in Ref. [ 16 ]) can be considered as a good measure for antiviral activity in application-relevant scenarios. Apart from moisture during exposure, also exposure medium may play a critical role in antiviral activity.…”