Tungsten carbide nanoparticles show a broad spectrum virucidal activity against enveloped and nonenveloped model viruses using a guideline-standardized in vitro test

Facile synthesis of Fe2O3, Fe2O3@CuO and WO3 nanoparticles: characterization, structure determination and evaluation of their biological activity

Due to their high specific surface area and its characteristic's functionalized nanomaterials have great potential in medical applications specialty, as an anticancer. Herein, functional nanoparticles (NPs) based on iron oxide Fe2O3, iron oxide modified with copper oxide Fe2O3@CuO, and tungsten oxide WO3 were facile synthesized for biomedical applications. The obtained nanomaterials have nanocrystal sizes of 35.5 nm for Fe2O3, 7 nm for Fe2O3@CuO, and 25.5 nm for WO3. In addition to octahedral and square nanoplates for Fe2O3, and WO3; respectively. Results revealed that Fe2O3, Fe2O3@CuO, and WO3 NPs showed remarked anticancer effects versus a safe effect on normal cells through cytotoxicity test using MTT-assay. Notably, synthesized NPs e.g. our result demonstrated that Fe2O3@CuO exhibited the lowest IC50 value on the MCF-7 cancer cell line at about 8.876 µg/ml, compared to Fe2O3 was 12.87 µg/ml and WO3 was 9.211 µg/ml which indicate that the modification NPs Fe2O3@CuO gave the highest antiproliferative effect against breast cancer. However, these NPs showed a safe mode toward the Vero normal cell line, where IC50 were monitored as 40.24 µg/ml for Fe2O3, 21.13 µg/ml for Fe2O3@CuO, and 25.41 µg/ml for WO3 NPs. For further evidence. The antiviral activity using virucidal and viral adsorption mechanisms gave practiced effect by viral adsorption mechanism and prevented the virus from replicating inside the cells. Fe2O3@CuO and WO3 NPs showed a complete reduction in the viral load synergistic effect of combinations between the tested two materials copper oxide instead of iron oxide alone. Interestingly, the antimicrobial efficiency of Fe2O3@CuO NPs, Fe2O3NPs, and WO3NPs was evaluated using E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans pathogens. The widest microbial inhibition zone (ca. 38.45 mm) was observed with 250 mg/ml of WO3 NPs against E. coli, whereas using 40 mg/ml of Fe2O3@CuO NPS could form microbial inhibition zone ca. 32.86 mm against S. aureus. Nevertheless, C. albicans was relatively resistant to all examined NPs. The superior biomedical activities of these nanostructures might be due to their unique features and accepted evaluations.

Antiviral role of nanomaterials: a material scientist's perspective

The present world continues to face unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Collaboration between researchers of multiple disciplines is the need of the hour. There is a need to develop antiviral agents capable of inhibiting viruses and tailoring existing antiviral drugs for efficient delivery to prevent a surge in deaths caused by viruses globally. Biocompatible systems have been designed using nanotechnological principles which showed appreciable results against a wide range of viruses. Many nanoparticles can act as antiviral therapeutic agents if synthesized by the correct approach. Moreover, nanoparticles can act as carriers of antiviral drugs while overcoming their inherent drawbacks such as low solubility, poor bioavailability, uncontrolled release, and side effects. This review highlights the potential of nanomaterials in antiviral applications by discussing various studies and their results regarding antiviral potential of nanoparticles while also suggesting future directions to researchers.

The application of normative documents for determination of biocidal activity of disinfectants and antiseptics dedicated for medical area: a narrative review

Disinfectants and antiseptics are important weapons to reduce the number of microorganisms and thus to limit the number of infections. Different methods of antimicrobial activity testing, often not standardised, without appropriate controls and not validated are applied. To address these issues, several European Standards (EN) have been developed, describing the test methods to determine whether chemical disinfectants or antiseptic products have appropriate bactericidal, sporicidal, mycobactericidal or tuberculocidal activity; fungicidal or yeasticidal activity; or virucidal activity. In this narrative review, the 17 EN concerning evaluation of the above-mentioned antimicrobial activity of preparations dedicated to the medical area are briefly reviewed, together with recent publications on this topic. Suspension and carrier tests have been performed in clean and dirty conditions simulating the medical area. In addition, a wide range of applications of these standards has been presented in the research of biocides for hand antisepsis, surfaces disinfection, including airborne disinfection as well as medical device and medical textile disinfection. The role of normative documents in the investigation of antimicrobial activity of disinfectants and antiseptics to limit infections has been underestimated. This narrative review aims to persuade researchers to conduct antimicrobial activity testing in line with validated EN and highlights an existing gap in ongoing research. It also aims to raise awareness of the wide range of biocidal activity tests with standardised methods in medical area. We also pay attention to the recently developed European Pharmacopoeia monography concerning the testing of bactericidal and fungicidal activity of antiseptics classified as medicinal products.

Metal-Based Nanomaterials: Work as Drugs and Carriers against Viral Infections

Virus infection is one of the threats to the health of organisms, and finding suitable antiviral agents is one of the main tasks of current researchers. Metal ions participate in multiple key reaction stages of organisms and maintain the important homeostasis of organisms. The application of synthetic metal-based nanomaterials as an antiviral therapy is a promising new research direction. Based on the application of synthetic metal-based nanomaterials in antiviral therapy, we summarize the research progress of metal-based nanomaterials in recent years. This review analyzes the three inhibition pathways of metal nanomaterials as antiviral therapeutic materials against viral infections, including direct inactivation, inhibition of virus adsorption and entry, and intracellular virus suppression; it further classifies and summarizes them according to their inhibition mechanisms. In addition, the use of metal nanomaterials as antiviral drug carriers and vaccine adjuvants is summarized. The analysis clarifies the antiviral mechanism of metal nanomaterials and broadens the application in the field of antiviral therapy.

Metal Nanoparticles: a Promising Treatment for Viral and Arboviral Infections

Globally, viral diseases continue to pose a significant threat to public health. Recent outbreaks, such as influenza, coronavirus, Ebola, and dengue, have emphasized the urgent need for new antiviral therapeutics. Considerable efforts have focused on developing metal nanoparticles for the treatment of several pathogenic viruses. As a result of these efforts, metal nanoparticles are demonstrating promising antiviral activity against pathogenic surrogates and clinical isolates. This review summarizes the application of metal nanoparticles for the treatment of viral infections. It provides information on synthesis methods, size-related properties, nano-bio-interaction, and immunological effects of metal nanoparticles. This article also addresses critical criteria and considerations for developing clinically translatable nanosized metal particles to treat viral diseases.

Transmission routes, preventive measures and control strategies of SARS-CoV-2 in the food factory

SARS-CoV-2 virus represents a health threat in food factories. This infectious virus is transmitted by direct contact and indirectly via airborne route, whereas contamination through inanimate objects/surfaces/equipment is uncertain. To limit the potential spread of the pathogen in the food industry, close working between individuals should be avoided and both personal and respiratory hygiene activities should be enforced. Despite the high infectivity, SARS-CoV-2, being an enveloped virus with a fragile lipid envelop, is sensitive to biocidal products and sanitizers commonly used in the food factory. In the context of the building design, interventions that promote healthy air quality should be adopted, especially in food areas with high-occupancy rates for prolonged times, to help minimize the potential exposure to airborne SARS-CoV-2. Air ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, are effective and easy-to-organize tools to reduce the risk of transmission through the air. In addition to conventional sanitation protocols, aerosolization of hydrogen peroxide, UV-C irradiation or in-situ ozone generation are complementary techniques for an effective virucidal treatment of the air.