Use of nanotechnology in combating coronavirus

Abstract

Recent COVID-19 pandemic situation caused due to the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affected global health as well as economics. There is global attention on prevention, diagnosis as well as treatment of COVID-19 infection which would help in easing the current situation. The use of nanotechnology and nanomedicine has been considered to be promising due to its excellent potential in managing various medical issues such as viruses which is a major threat. Nanoparticles have shown great potential in various biomedical applications and can prove to be of great use in antiviral therapy, especially over other conventional antiviral agents. This review focusses on the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 and the progression of the COVID-19 disease followed by currently available treatments for the same. Use of nanotechnology has been elaborated by exploiting various nanoparticles like metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, carbon-based nanoparticles, quantum dots, polymeric nanoparticles as well as lipid-based nanoparticles along with its mechanism of action against viruses which can prove to be beneficial in COVID-19 therapeutics. However, it needs to be considered that use of these nanotechnology-based approaches in COVID-19 therapeutics only aids the human immunity in fighting the infection. The main function is performed by the immune system in combatting any infection.

The Potential Use of Peptides in the Fight against Chagas Disease and Leishmaniasis

“…Drug delivery and drug design can use nanomedicine, a branch of science that deals with particles at the nanoscale [ 242 ]. Low permeability, insolubility, painful injections, prolonged hospitalization, and unfavorable side effects are just a few of the limitations of the conventional delivery system.…”

Functional Textile Materials for Blocking COVID-19 Transmission

“…Studies have demonstrated that AgNPs <25 nm in size were 12 times more active toward HIV-1 compared to silver ions, ,, and their antiviral activity remained constant up to 150 days when the concentration was higher than 2.1 mg/L . In a review article, Gharpure and Ankamwar provided comprehensive insights into the functionalization of metal-based nanoparticles by introducing organic groups, such as sulfonated, succinic acid functionalized, thiol functionalized, and sialic acid functionalized groups. These included the modification of β-diketo acid coated AuNPs, ZnO-NPs encapsulated with polyethylene glycol (PEG), and MoS 2 -grafted thiolated surfactants. − These reports suggested that the conjugation of functional groups grafted onto textiles could improve the poor adhesion of inorganic compounds with the fiber surface.…”

Review on carbon dots: Synthesis and application in biology field

“…There is a global focus on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19 infection, which will help alleviate the current situation. The antiviral properties of CDs are relatively new, and recent studies have shown that they are resistant to human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and have great potential for antiviral therapy [255] (Table 7). Yu et al reported a 4-aminophenylboronic acidsynthesized CD with excellent antiviral properties and biocompatibility against HSV-1.…”