Application of Nanotechnology in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The surface modification of the silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles and their application in molecular diagnostics of virus infection

The study presents a series of examples of magnetic nanoparticle systems designed for the diagnosis of viral diseases. In this interdisciplinary work, we describe one of the most comprehensive synthetic approaches for the preparation and functionalization of smart nanoparticle systems for rapid and effective RT-PCR diagnostics and isolation of viral RNA. Twelve different organic ligands and inorganic porous silica were used for surface functionalization of the Fe3O4 magnetic core to increase the number of active centres for efficient RNA binding from human swab samples. Different nanoparticle systems with common beads were characterized by HRTEM, SEM, FT-IR, XRD, XPS and magnetic measurements. We demonstrate the application of the fundamental models modified to fit the experimental zero-field cooling magnetization data. We discuss the influence of the nanoparticle shell parameters (morphology, thickness, ligands) on the overall magnetic performance of the systems. The prepared nanoparticles were tested for the isolation of viral RNA from tissue samples infected with hepatitis E virus-HEV and from biofluid samples of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. The efficiency of RNA isolation was quantified by RT-qPCR method.

Combining docking, molecular dynamics simulations, AD-MET pharmacokinetics properties, and MMGBSA calculations to create specialized protocols for running effective virtual screening campaigns on the autoimmune disorder and SARS-CoV-2 main protease

The development of novel medicines to treat autoimmune diseases and SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), a virus that can cause both acute and chronic illnesses, is an ongoing necessity for the global community. The primary objective of this research is to use CoMFA methods to evaluate the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) of a select group of chemicals concerning autoimmune illnesses. By performing a molecular docking analysis, we may verify previously observed tendencies and gain insight into how receptors and ligands interact. The results of the 3D QSAR models are quite satisfactory and give significant statistical results: Q_loo∧2 = 0.5548, Q_lto∧2 = 0.5278, R∧2 = 0.9990, F-test = 3,101.141, SDEC = 0.017 for the CoMFA FFDSEL, and Q_loo∧2 = 0.7033, Q_lto∧2 = 0.6827, Q_lmo∧2 = 0.6305, R∧2 = 0.9984, F-test = 1994.0374, SDEC = 0.0216 for CoMFA UVEPLS. The success of these two models in exceeding the external validation criteria used and adhering to the Tropsha and Glorbaikh criteria's upper and lower bounds can be noted. We report the docking simulation of the compounds as an inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and an autoimmune disorder in this context. For a few chosen autoimmune disorder receptors (protein tyrosine phosphatase, nonreceptor type 22 (lymphoid) isoform 1 (PTPN22), type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, the optimal binding characteristics of the compounds were described. According to their potential for effectiveness, the studied compounds were ranked, and those that demonstrated higher molecular docking scores than the reference drugs were suggested as potential new drug candidates for the treatment of autoimmune disease and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Additionally, the results of analyses of drug similarity, ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion), and toxicity were used to screen the best-docked compounds in which compound 4 scaled through. Finally, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was used to verify compound 4's stability in the complex with the chosen autoimmune diseases and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro protein. This compound showed a steady trajectory and molecular characteristics with a predictable pattern of interactions. These findings suggest that compound 4 may hold potential as a therapy for autoimmune diseases and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro.

An update on vaccine status and the role of nanomedicine against SARS-CoV-2: A narrative review

Background and Aims

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, is a highly communicable disease that gave rise to the ongoing pandemic. Despite prompt action across many laboratories in many countries, effective management of this disease is still out of reach. The focus of this review is to describe various vaccination approaches and nanomedicine-based delivery systems against COVID-19.

Methods

The articles included in this study were searched and added from different electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, and preprint databases.

Results

Mass immunization with vaccines is currently at the forefront of COVID-19 infection control. Such vaccines are live attenuated vaccines, inactivated vaccines, nucleic acid-based vaccines, protein subunit vaccines, viral-vector vaccines, and virus-like particle platforms. However, many promising avenues are currently being explored in laboratory and clinical settings, including treatment options, prevention, diagnosis, and management of the disease. Soft nanoparticles like lipid nanoparticles (solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNPs), liposomes, nanostructured lipid carriers, nanoemulsions, and protein nanoparticles play an essential role in nanomedicine. Because of their unique and excellent properties, nanomedicines have potential applications in treating COVID-19 disease.

Conclusions

This review work provides an overview of the therapeutic aspects of COVID-19, including vaccination and the role of nanomedicines in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COVID-19.

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Blunt Potassium-Bromate-Induced Renal Toxicity by Reinforcing the Redox System

Potassium bromate (PB) is a general food additive, a significant by-product during water disinfection, and a carcinogen (Class II B). The compound emits toxicity depending on the extent of its exposure and dose through consumable items. The current study targeted disclosing the ameliorative efficacy of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) prepared by green technology in PB-exposed Swiss albino rats. The rats were separated into six treatment groups: control without any treatment (Group I), PB alone (Group II), ZnO alone (Group III), ZnO NP alone (Group IV), PB + ZnO (Group V), and PB + ZnO NPs (Group VI). The blood and kidney samples were retrieved from the animals after following the treatment plan and kept at -20 °C until further analysis. Contrary to the control (Group I), PB-treated rats (Group II) exhibited a prominent trend in alteration in the established kidney function markers and disturbed redox status. Further, the analysis of the tissue and nuclear DNA also reinforced the biochemical results of the same treatment group. Hitherto, Groups III and IV also showed moderate toxic insults. However, Group VI showed a significant improvement from the PB-induced toxic insults compared to Group II. Hence, the present study revealed the significant therapeutic potential of the NPs against PB-induced nephrotoxicity in vivo, pleading for their usage in medicines having nephrotoxicity as a side effect or in enhancing the safety of the industrial use of PB.

Prospect of nanomaterials as antimicrobial and antiviral regimen

In recent years studies of nanomaterials have been explored in the field of microbiology due to the increasing evidence of antibiotic resistance. Nanomaterials could be inorganic or organic, and they may be synthesized from natural products from plant or animal origin. The therapeutic applications of nano-materials are wide, from diagnosis of disease to targeted delivery of drugs. Broad-spectrum antiviral and antimicrobial activities of nanoparticles are also well evident. The ratio of nanoparticles surface area to their volume is high and that allows them to be an advantageous vehicle of drugs in many respects. Effective uses of various materials for the synthesis of nanoparticles impart much specificity in them to meet the requirements of specific therapeutic strategies. The potential therapeutic use of nanoparticles and their mechanisms of action against infections from bacteria, fungi and viruses were the focus of this review. Further, their potential advantages, drawbacks, limitations and side effects are also included here. Researchers are characterizing the exposure pathways of nano-medicines that may cause serious toxicity to the subjects or the environment. Indeed, societal ethical issues in using nano-medicines pose a serious question to scientists beyond anything.

Nanometric Mechanical Behavior of Electrospun Membranes Loaded with Magnetic Nanoparticles

This work analyzes on nanoscale spatial domains the mechanical features of electrospun membranes of Polycaprolactone (PCL) loaded with Functionalized Magnetite Nanoparticles (FMNs) produced via an electrospinning process. Thermal and structural analyses demonstrate that FMNs affect the PCL crystallinity and its melting temperature. HarmoniX-Atomic Force Microscopy (H-AFM), a modality suitable to map the elastic modulus on nanometric domains of the sample surface, evidences that the FMNs affect the local mechanical properties of the membranes. The mechanical modulus increases when the tip reveals the magnetite nanoparticles. That allows accurate mapping of the FMNs distribution along the nanofibers mat through the analysis of a mechanical parameter. Local mechanical modulus values are also affected by the crystallinity degree of PCL influenced by the filler content. The crystallinity increases for a low filler percentage (<5 wt.%), while, higher magnetite amounts tend to hinder the crystallization of the polymer, which manifests a lower crystallinity. H-AFM analysis confirms this trend, showing that the distribution of local mechanical values is a function of the filler amount and crystallinity of the fibers hosting the filler. The bulk mechanical properties of the membranes, evaluated through tensile tests, are strictly related to the nanometric features of the complex nanocomposite system.

Advances in Antiviral Delivery Systems and Chitosan-Based Polymeric and Nanoparticulate Antivirals and Antiviral Carriers

Current antiviral therapy research is focused on developing dosage forms that enable highly effective drug delivery, providing a selective effect in the organism, lower risk of adverse effects, a lower dose of active pharmaceutical ingredients, and minimal toxicity. In this article, antiviral drugs and the mechanisms of their action are summarized at the beginning as a prerequisite background to develop relevant drug delivery/carrier systems for them, classified and briefly discussed subsequently. Many of the recent studies aim at different types of synthetic, semisynthetic, and natural polymers serving as a favorable matrix for the antiviral drug carrier. Besides a wider view of different antiviral delivery systems, this review focuses on advances in antiviral drug delivery systems based on chitosan (CS) and derivatized CS carriers. CS and its derivatives are evaluated concerning methods of their preparation, their basic characteristics and properties, approaches to the incorporation of an antiviral drug in the CS polymer as well as CS nanoparticulate systems, and their recent biomedical applications in the context of actual antiviral therapy. The degree of development (i.e., research study, in vitro/ex vivo/in vivo preclinical testing), as well as benefits and limitations of CS polymer and CS nanoparticulate drug delivery systems, are reported for particular viral diseases and corresponding antivirotics.

Success of nano-vaccines against COVID-19: a transformation in nanomedicine

INTRODUCTION

The vaccines being used against COVID-19 are composed of either non-viral or viral nanoparticles (NPs). Nanotechnology-based vaccine technology was studied for its potentially transformative advancement of medicine.

AREAS COVERED

NPs protect the encapsulated mRNA in vaccines, thereby enhancing the stability of the ribonucleic acids and facilitating their intact delivery to their specific targets. Compared to liposomes, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are unique and, through their rigid morphology and better cellular penetrability, render enhanced cargo stability. To explore nanotechnology-mediated vaccine delivery and its potential in future pandemics, we assessed articles from various databases, such as PubMed, Embase, and Scopus, including editorial/research notes, expert opinions, and collections of data from several clinical research trials. In the current review, we focus on the nanoparticulate approach of the different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and explore their success against the pandemic.

EXPERT OPINION

The mRNA-based vaccines, with their tremendous efficacy of ~95% (under phase III-IV clinical trials) and distinct nanocarriers (LNPs), represent a new medical front alongside DNA and siRNA-based vaccines.

Application of Nanotechnology in COVID-19 Infection: Findings and Limitations

There is an urgent need to address the global mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it reached 6.3 million as of July 2022. As such, the experts recommended the mass diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection at an early stage using nanotechnology-based sensitive diagnostic approaches. The development of nanobiosensors for Point-of-Care (POC) sampling of COVID-19 could ensure mass detection without the need for sophisticated laboratories or expert personnel. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques for POC detection was also proposed. In addition, the utilization of various antiviral nanomaterials such as Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) for the development of masks for personal protection mitigates viral transmission. Nowadays, nano-assisted vaccines have been approved for emergency use, but their safety and effectiveness in the mutant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remain challenging. Methodology: Updated literature was sourced from various research indexing databases such as PubMed, SCOPUS, Science Direct, Research Gate and Google Scholars. Result: We presented the concept of novel nanotechnology researched discovery, including nano-devices, electrochemical biosensing, nano-assisted vaccine, and nanomedicines, for use in recent times, which could be a formidable step for future management of COVID-19.

State-of-art high-performance Nano-systems for mutated coronavirus infection management: From Lab to Clinic

The emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants made emerging novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) pandemic/endemic/or both more severe and difficult to manage due to increased worry about the efficacy and efficiency of present preventative, therapeutic, and sensing measures. To deal with these unexpected circumstances, the development of novel nano-systems with tuneable optical, electrical, magnetic, and morphological properties can lead to novel research needed for (1) COVID-19 infection (anti-microbial systems against SARS-CoV-2), (2) early detection of mutated SARS-CoV-2, and (3) targeted delivery of therapeutics using nano-systems, i.e., nanomedicine. However, there is a knowledge gap in understanding all these nano-biotechnology potentials for managing mutated SARS-CoV-2 on a single platform. To bring up the aspects of nanotechnology to tackle SARS-CoV-2 variants related COVID-19 pandemic, this article emphasizes improvements in the high-performance of nano-systems to combat SARS-CoV-2 strains/variants with a goal of managing COVID-19 infection via trapping, eradication, detection/sensing, and treatment of virus. The potential of state-of-the-art nano-assisted approaches has been demonstrated as an efficient drug delivery systems, viral disinfectants, vaccine productive cargos, anti-viral activity, and biosensors suitable for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. Furthermore, the process linked with the efficacy of nanosystems to neutralize and eliminate SARS-CoV-2 is extensively highligthed in this report. The challenges and opportunities associated with managing COVID-19 using nanotechnology as part of regulations are also well-covered. The outcomes of this review will help researchers to design, investigate, and develop an appropriate nano system to manage COVID-19 infection, with a focus on the detection and eradication of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. This article is unique in that it discusses every aspect of high-performance nanotechnology for ideal COVID pandemic management.

Synthesis of bee venom loaded chitosan nanoparticles for anti-MERS-COV and multi-drug resistance bacteria

This study aims to fully exploit the natural compound; bee venom (BV) as a substance that can kill and inhibit the growth of microbes and viruses. For this target, BV was loaded onto a safe, natural, and economically inexpensive polymer; chitosan (Ch) in its nano-size form prepared using ionic gelation method in the presence of chemical crosslinking agent (sodium tripolyphosphate; TPP). The findings illustrated that chitosan nanoparticles (ChNPs) were prepared thru this method and exhibited spherical shape and average hydrodynamic size of 202 nm with a polydispersity index (PDI = 0.44). However, the size was increased to 221 nm with PDI (0.37) when chitosan nanoparticles were loaded with BV (ChNC). In addition, the particles of BV appeared as a core and chitosan nanoparticles as a shell implying the successful preparation of nanocomposite (ChNC). Encapsulation of BV into ChNPs with significantly small size distribution and good stability that protect these formed nanocomposites from agglomeration. The cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition assay was used to identify potential antivirals for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The response of the dose study was designed to influence the range of effectiveness for the chosen antiviral, i.e., the 50 % inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀), as well as the range of cytotoxicity (CC₅₀). However, our results indicated that crude BV had mild anti-MERS-COV with selective index (SI = 4.6), followed by ChNPs that exhibited moderate anti-MERS-COV with SI = 8.6. Meanwhile. The nanocomposite of ChNC displayed a promising anti-MERS-COV with SI = 12.1. Additionally, the synthesized nanocomposite (ChNC) had greater antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria when compared with ChNPs, BV or the utilized model drug.

Remdesivir-loaded bis-MPA hyperbranched dendritic nanocarriers for pulmonary delivery

Remdesivir is the only clinically available antiviral drug for the treatment of COVID-19. However, its very limited aqueous solubility confines its therapeutic activity and the development of novel inhaled nano-based drug delivery systems of remdesivir for enhanced lung tissue targeting and efficacy is internationally pursued. In this work 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (bis-MPA) hyperbranched dendritic nano-scaffolds were employed as nanocarriers of remdesivir. The produced nano-formulations, empty and loaded, consisted of monodisperse nanoparticles with spherical morphology and neutral surface charge and sizes ranging between 80 and 230 nm. The entrapment efficiency and loading capacity of the loaded samples were 82.0% and 14.1%, respectively, whereas the release of the encapsulated drug was complete after 48 h. The toxicity assays in healthy MRC-5 lung diploid fibroblasts and NR8383 alveolar macrophages indicated their suitability as potential remdesivir carriers in the respiratory system. The novel nano-formulations are non-toxic in both tested cell lines, with IC₅₀ values higher than 400 μΜ after 72 h treatment. Moreover, both free and encapsulated remdesivir exhibited very similar IC₅₀ values, at the range of 80-90 μM, while its aqueous solubility was increased, overall presenting a suitable profile for application in inhaled delivery of therapeutics.

Recent advances in point of care testing for COVID-19 detection

The World Health Organizations declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic was a milestone for the scientific community. The high transmission rate and the huge number of deaths, along with the lack of knowledge about the virus and the evolution of the disease, stimulated a relentless search for diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines. The main challenges were the differential diagnosis of COVID-19 and the development of specific, rapid, and sensitive tests that could reach all people. RT-PCR remains the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19. However, new methods, such as other molecular techniques and immunoassays emerged. Also, the need for accessible tests with quick results boosted the development of point of care tests (POCT) that are fast, and automated, with high precision and accuracy. This assay reduces the dependence on laboratory conditions and mass testing of the population, dispersing the pressure regarding screening and detection. This review summarizes the advances in the diagnostic field since the pandemic started, emphasizing various laboratory techniques for detecting COVID-19. We reviewed the main existing diagnostic methods, as well as POCT under development, starting with RT-PCR detection, but also exploring other nucleic acid techniques, such as digital PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification-based assay (RT-LAMP), clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), and next-generation sequencing (NGS), and immunoassay tests, and nanoparticle-based biosensors, developed as portable instruments for the rapid standard diagnosis of COVID-19.

Antiviral potential of nanoparticles for the treatment of Coronavirus infections

BACKGROUND

On 31st December 2019 in Wuhan, China, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), was acknowledged. This virus spread quickly throughout the world causing a global pandemic. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic disease on 11th March 2020. Since then, the whole world has come together and have developed several vaccines against this deadly virus. Similarly, several alternative searches for pandemic disease therapeutics are still ongoing. One of them has been identified as nanotechnology. It has demonstrated significant promise for detecting and inhibiting a variety of viruses, including coronaviruses. Several nanoparticles, including gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon dots, graphene oxide nanoparticles, and zinc oxide nanoparticles, have previously demonstrated remarkable antiviral activity against a diverse array of viruses.

OBJECTIVE

This review aims to provide a basic and comprehensive overview of COVID-19's initial global outbreak and its mechanism of infiltration into human host cells, as well as the detailed mechanism and inhibitory effects of various nanoparticles against this virus. In addition to nanoparticles, this review focuses on the role of several antiviral drugs used against COVID-19 to date.

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 has severely disrupted the social and economic lives of people all over the world. Due to a lack of adequate medical facilities, countries have struggled to maintain control of the situation. Neither a drug nor a vaccine has a 100% efficacy rate. As a result, nanotechnology may be a better therapeutic alternative for this pandemic disease.

Advances in Nanomaterial-Based Platforms to Combat COVID-19: Diagnostics, Preventions, Therapeutics, and Vaccine Developments

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2, a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that emerged less than two years ago but has caused nearly 6.1 million deaths to date. Recently developed variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been shown to be more potent and expanded at a faster rate. Until now, there is no specific and effective treatment for SARS-CoV-2 in terms of reliable and sustainable recovery. Precaution, prevention, and vaccinations are the only ways to keep the pandemic situation under control. Medical and scientific professionals are now focusing on the repurposing of previous technology and trying to develop more fruitful methodologies to detect the presence of viruses, treat the patients, precautionary items, and vaccine developments. Nanomedicine or nanobased platforms can play a crucial role in these fronts. Researchers are working on many effective approaches by nanosized particles to combat SARS-CoV-2. The role of a nanobased platform to combat SARS-CoV-2 is extremely diverse (i.e., mark to personal protective suit, rapid diagnostic tool to targeted treatment, and vaccine developments). Although there are many theoretical possibilities of a nanobased platform to combat SARS-CoV-2, until now there is an inadequate number of research targeting SARS-CoV-2 to explore such scenarios. This unique mini-review aims to compile and elaborate on the recent advances of nanobased approaches from prevention, diagnostics, treatment to vaccine developments against SARS-CoV-2, and associated challenges.

Contribution of magnetic particles in molecular diagnosis of human viruses

Viral diseases are the primary source of death, making a worldwide influence on healthcare, social, and economic development. Thus, diagnosis is the vital approach to the main aim of virus control and elimination. On the other hand, the prompt advancement of nanotechnology in the field of medicine possesses the probability of being beneficial to diagnose infections normally in labs as well as specifically. Nanoparticles are efficiently in use to make novel strategies because of permitting analysis at cellular in addition to the molecular scale. Henceforth, they assist towards pronounced progress concerning molecular analysis at the nanoscale. In recent times, magnetic nanoparticles conjugated through covalent bonds to bioanalytes for instance peptides, antibodies, nucleic acids, plus proteins are established like nanoprobes aimed at molecular recognition. These modified magnetic nanoparticles could offer a simple fast approach for extraction, purification, enrichment/concentration, besides viruses' recognition precisely also specifically. In consideration of the above, herein insight and outlook into the limitations of conventional methods and numerous roles played by magnetic nanoparticles to extract, purify, concentrate, and additionally in developing a diagnostic regime for viral outbreaks to combat viruses especially the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Coupled Multiphysics Modelling of Sensors for Chemical, Biomedical, and Environmental Applications with Focus on Smart Materials and Low-Dimensional Nanostructures

Low-dimensional nanostructures have many advantages when used in sensors compared to the traditional bulk materials, in particular in their sensitivity and specificity. In such nanostructures, the motion of carriers can be confined from one, two, or all three spatial dimensions, leading to their unique properties. New advancements in nanosensors, based on low-dimensional nanostructures, permit their functioning at scales comparable with biological processes and natural systems, allowing their efficient functionalization with chemical and biological molecules. In this article, we provide details of such sensors, focusing on their several important classes, as well as the issues of their designs based on mathematical and computational models covering a range of scales. Such multiscale models require state-of-the-art techniques for their solutions, and we provide an overview of the associated numerical methodologies and approaches in this context. We emphasize the importance of accounting for coupling between different physical fields such as thermal, electromechanical, and magnetic, as well as of additional nonlinear and nonlocal effects which can be salient features of new applications and sensor designs. Our special attention is given to nanowires and nanotubes which are well suited for nanosensor designs and applications, being able to carry a double functionality, as transducers and the media to transmit the signal. One of the key properties of these nanostructures is an enhancement in sensitivity resulting from their high surface-to-volume ratio, which leads to their geometry-dependant properties. This dependency requires careful consideration at the modelling stage, and we provide further details on this issue. Another important class of sensors analyzed here is pertinent to sensor and actuator technologies based on smart materials. The modelling of such materials in their dynamics-enabled applications represents a significant challenge as we have to deal with strongly nonlinear coupled problems, accounting for dynamic interactions between different physical fields and microstructure evolution. Among other classes, important in novel sensor applications, we have given our special attention to heterostructures and nucleic acid based nanostructures. In terms of the application areas, we have focused on chemical and biomedical fields, as well as on green energy and environmentally-friendly technologies where the efficient designs and opportune deployments of sensors are both urgent and compelling.

Recent and advanced nano-technological strategies for COVID-19 vaccine development

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 has been one of the greatest challenges modern medicine and science has ever faced. It has affected millions of people around the world and altered human life and activities as we once knew. The high prevalence as well as an extended period of incubations which usually does not present with symptoms have played a formidable role in the transmission and infection of millions. A lot of research has been carried out on developing suitable treatment and effective preventive measures for the control of the pandemic. Preventive strategies which include social distancing, use of masks, washing of hands, and contact tracing have been effective in slowing the spread of the virus; however, the infectious nature of the SARS-COV-2 has made these strategies unable to eradicate its spread. In addition, the continuous increase in the number of cases and death, as well as the appearance of several variants of the virus, has necessitated the development of effective and safe vaccines in a bid to ensure that human activities can return to normalcy. Nanotechnology has been of great benefit in the design of vaccines as nano-sized materials have been known to aid the safe and effective delivery of antigens as well as serve as suitable adjuvants to potentiate responses to vaccines. There are only four vaccine candidates currently approved for use in humans while many other candidates are at various levels of development. This review seeks to provide updated information on the current nano-technological strategies employed in the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

Quantification of silver nanoparticle interactions with yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae studied using single-cell ICP-MS

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been used in many fields due to their anticancer, antimicrobial, and antiviral potential. Single-cell ICP-MS (SC-ICP-MS) is an emerging technology that allows for the rapid characterization and quantification of a metal analyte across a cell population in a single analysis. In this study, a new rapid and sensitive SC-ICP-MS method was developed to quantitatively study the interactions of AgNPs with yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The method can quantify the cell concentration, silver concentration per cell, and profile the nanoparticle distribution in a yeast cell population. AgNP dosing time, concentration, and AgNP size were quantitatively evaluated for their effects on AgNP-yeast cell interactions. The results showed that the initial uptake of AgNPs was rapid and primarily driven by the mass of Ag per cell. The optimal dosing particle concentrations for highest uptake were approximately 1820, 1000, and 300 AgNPs/cell for 10, 20, and 40 nm AgNPs, respectively. Furthermore, this study also validated a washing method for the application to a microorganism for the first time and was used to quantitatively determine the amount of cell surface-adsorbed AgNPs and intracellular AgNPs. These results indicated that the mass (Ag in ag/cell) ratios of intracelluar vs cell surface-adsorbed AgNPs were similar for different AgNP sizes. This high throughput and ultrasensitive SC-ICP-MS method is expected to have many potential applications, such as optimization of methods for green synthesis of AgNPs, nanotoxicity studies, and drug delivery. This is the first quantification study on the interactions of AgNPs and S. cerevisiae using SC-ICP-MS.

Nanotechnology-based approaches in the fight against SARS-CoV-2

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by highly-infectious virus namely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in infection of millions of individuals and deaths across the world. The need of an hour is to find the innovative solution for diagnosis, prevention, and cure of the COVID-19 disease. Nanotechnology is emerging as one of the important tool for the same. In the present review we discuss the applications of nanotechnology-based approaches that are being implemented to speed up the development of diagnostic kits for SARS-CoV-2, development of personal protective equipments, and development of therapeutics of COVID-19 especially the vaccine development.

Pharmaceutical nanotechnology: from the bench to the market

Background

Nanotechnology is considered a new and rapidly emerging area in the pharmaceutical and medicinal field. Nanoparticles, as drug delivery systems, impart several advantages concerning improved efficacy as well as reduced adverse drug reactions.

Main body

Different types of nanosystems have been fabricated including carbon nanotubes, paramagnetic nanoparticles, dendrimers, nanoemulsions, etc. Physicochemical properties of the starting materials and the selected method of preparation play a significant aspect in determining the shape and characteristics of the developed nanoparticles. Dispersion of preformed polymers, coacervation, polymerization, nano-spray drying and supercritical fluid technology are among the most extensively used techniques for the preparation of nanocarriers. Particle size, surface charge, surface hydrophobicity and drug release are the main factors affecting nanoparticles physical stability and biological performance of the incorporated drug. In clinical practice, many nanodrugs have been used for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications and are being investigated for various indications in clinical trials. Nanoparticles are used for the cure of kidney diseases, tuberculosis, skin conditions, Alzheimer’s disease, different types of cancer as well as preparation of COVID-19 vaccines.

Conclusion

In this review, we will confer the advantages, types, methods of preparation, characterization methods and some of the applications of nano-systems.

Nanoagent-based theranostic strategies against human coronaviruses

The emergence of human coronaviruses (HCoVs), especially the current pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), engender severe threats to public health globally. Despite the outstanding breakthrough of new vaccines and therapeutic medicines in the past years, HCoVs still undergo unpredictable mutations, thus demanding more effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Benefitting from the unique physicochemical properties and multiple nano-bio interactions, nanomaterials hold promising potential to fight against various HCoVs, either by providing sensitive and economic nanosensors for rapid viral detection, or by developing translatable nanovaccines and broad-spectrum nanomedicines for HCoV treatment. Herein, we systemically summarized the recent applications of nanoagents in diagnostics and therapeutics for HCoV-induced diseases, as well as their limitations and perspectives against HCoV variants. We believe this review will promote the design of innovative theranostic nanoagents for the current and future HCoV-caused pandemics.

Critical review of the characteristics, interactions, and toxicity of micro/nanomaterials pollutants in aquatic environments

A wide range of contaminants of emerging concern such as micro/nanoplastics (MPs/PNPs) and metal-nanoparticles (Me-NPs) from anthropogenic activities have been identified in aquatic environments. The hazardous effects of these micro/nanomaterials as pollutants in organisms and the lack of knowledge about their behavior in aquatic environments have generated growing concern in the scientific community. The nanomaterials have a colloidal-type behavior due to their size range but with differences in their physicochemical properties. This review comprises the behavior of micro/nanomaterials pollutants and the physicochemical interactions between MPs/PNPs and Me-NPs in aquatic environments, and their potential toxicological effects in organisms. Moreover, this article describes the potential use of Me-NPs to remove MPs/PNPs present in the water column due to their photocatalytic and magnetic properties. It also discusses the challenge to determine harmful effects of micro/nanomaterials pollutants in organisms and provides future research directions to improve integrated management strategies to mitigate their environmental impact.

Nanotechnology and COVID-19: quo vadis?

The pandemic COVID-19 has worried everyone due to the high mortality rate and the high number of people hospitalized with severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by SARS-CoV-2. Given the seriousness of this disease, several companies and research institutions have sought alternative treatment and/or prevention methods for COVID-19. Due to its versatility, nanotechnology has allowed the development of protective equipment and vaccines to prevent the disease and reduce the number of severe COVID-19 cases. Thus, this article combined the main works and products developed in a nanotechnological field for COVID-19. We performed a literature search using the keywords "COVID-19," "SARS-CoV-2," "nanoparticles," "nanotechnology," and "liposomes" in the SciELO, Scifinder, PubMed, Sciencedirect, ClinicalTrials, and Nanotechnology Products databases Database. The data survey indicated 48 articles, 62 products, and 32 patents. The use of nanotechnology against COVID-19 has brought benefits in several parameters of this disease, helping develop rapid diagnostic tests that release the result in 10 min, as well as developing vaccines containing genetic material from SARS-CoV-2 (DNA, mRNA, and protein subunits). Nanotechnology is an exceptional ally against COVID-19, contributing to the most diverse areas, helping both prevent, diagnose, and treat COVID-19.

Nanotechnology-based bio-tools and techniques for COVID-19 management

COVID-19, a most serious issue and the threat for the human life, has affected millions of people worldwide. It was observed as unknown cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China and claimed unknown till January 10, 2020 and led to the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) therefore worldwide pandemic. The Director-General-WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 and constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020 with the recommendations of the Emergency Committee. This outbreak originated from Wuhan, China in 2019 named as COVID-19 approached 115 countries, with 119,239 cases of infection spread and 4287 deaths by March 11, 2020.

Polymeric nanoparticles as therapeutic agents against coronavirus disease

Nanotechnology has the potential to improve the combat against life-threatening conditions. Considering the COVID-19 scenario, and future outbreaks, nanotechnology can play a pivotal role in several steps, ranging from disinfection protocols, manufacture of hospital clothes, to implementation of healthcare settings. Polymeric nanoparticles are colloidal particles with size ranging from 10 to 999 nm, composed of natural or synthetic polymers. The versatility of polymeric-based nanoparticle engineering can provide (i) specificity, (ii) tunable release kinetics, and (iii) multimodal drug composition, making it possible to overcome common limitations encountered during traditional drug development. Consequently, these particles have been widely used as drug delivery systems against several diseases, such as cancer. Due to inherent competitive advantages, polymeric-based nanoparticles hold astonishing potential to counteract the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). For this reason, in the present study, the latest advancements in polymer-based nanotechnology approaches used to fight against SARS-CoV-2 are compiled and discussed. Moreover, the importance of forefront in vitro technologies - such as 3D bioprinting and organ-on-chip - to evaluate the efficacy of nanotherapeutic agents is also highlighted. Polymeric nanoparticles can be functionalized to enhance its potential as a nanotherapeutic agent. Due to its many advantages, polymeric-based nanoparticles systems are a promising approach against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Recent review of COVID-19 management: diagnosis, treatment and vaccination

The idiopathic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has reached global proportions; the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as a public health emergency during the month of January 30, 2020. The major causes of the rise of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 are genetic mutations and recombination. Some of the variants with high infection and transmission rates are termed as variants of concern (VOCs) like currently Omicron variants. Pregnant women, aged people, and immunosuppressed and compromised patients constitute the most susceptible human population to the SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially to the new evolving VOCs. To effectively manage the pathological condition of infection, the focus should be directed towards prevention and prophylactic approach. In this narrative review, we aimed to analyze the current scenario of COVID-19 management and discuss the treatment and prevention strategies. We also focused on the complications prevalent during the COVID-19 and post-COVID period and to discuss the novel approaches developed for mitigation of the global pandemic. We have also emphasized on the COVID-19 management approaches for the special population including children, pregnant women, aged groups, and immunocompromised patients. We conclude that the advancements in therapeutic and pharmacological domains have provided opportunities to develop and design novel diagnosis, treatment, and prevention strategies. New advanced techniques such as RT-LAMP, RT-qPCR, High-Resolution Computed Tomography, etc., efficiently diagnose patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the case of treatment options, new drugs like paxlovid, combinations of β-lactum drugs and molnupiravir are found to be effective against even the new emerging variants. In addition, vaccination is an essential approach to prevent the infection or to reduce its severity. Vaccines for against COVID-19 from Comirnaty by Pfizer-BioNTech, SpikeVax by Moderna, and Vaxzevria by Oxford-AstraZeneca are approved and used widely. Similarly, numerous vaccines have been developed with different percentages of effectiveness against VOCs. New developments like nanotechnology and AI can be beneficial in providing an efficient and reliable solution for the suppression of SARS-CoV-2. Public health concerns can be efficiently treated by a unified scientific approach, public engagement, and better diagnosis.

Investigating host-virus interaction mechanism and phylogenetic analysis of viral proteins involved in the pathogenesis

Since the emergence of yellow fever in the Americas and the devastating 1918 influenza pandemic, biologists and clinicians have been drawn to human infecting viruses to understand their mechanisms of infection better and develop effective therapeutics against them. However, the complex molecular and cellular processes that these viruses use to infect and multiply in human cells have been a source of great concern for the scientific community since the discovery of the first human infecting virus. Viral disease outbreaks, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus, have claimed millions of lives and caused significant economic damage worldwide. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of host-virus interaction and the molecular machinery involved in the pathogenesis of some common human viruses. We also performed a phylogenetic analysis of viral proteins involved in host-virus interaction to understand the changes in the sequence organization of these proteins during evolution for various strains of viruses to gain insights into the viral origin's evolutionary perspectives.

Chitosan Nanoparticles for Antiviral Drug Delivery: A Novel Route for COVID-19 Treatment

Chitosan has been investigated in several biological fields, including drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering antiviral and immunological adjuvant methods. It's a cationic copolymer of N-acetyl glucosamine and D-glucosamine with different molecular chain lengths, compositions, and sequences than N-acetyl glucosamine and D-glucosamine. It is biocompatible and cyto-compatible, as well as recyclable and bioresorbable. As effective drug delivery methods, chitosan nanoparticles are shaped into several pathways. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of its antiviral application as a nanocarrier for antiviral medications, highlighting the benefits, limitations, and downsides. In this review, we will report the most recent COVID-19 vaccination advances. It will also be discussed what the future holds for chitosan nanoparticles in the treatment of coronaviruses.

Current trends in diagnosis and treatment strategies of COVID-19 infection

Coronaviruses are terrifically precise and adapted towards specialized respiratory epithelial cells, observed in organ culture and human volunteers both. This virus is found to possess an unpredictable anti-viral T-cell response which in turn results in T-cell activation and finally apoptosis, leading to cytokine storm and collapse of the whole immune system. The present review provides comprehensive information regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection, mutant strains, and the impact of SARS-COV-2 on vital organs, the pathophysiology of the disease, diagnostic tests available, and possible treatments. It also includes all the vaccines developed so far throughout the world to control this pandemic. Until now, 18 vaccines have been approved by the WHO and further 22 vaccines are in the third trial. This study also provides up-to-date information regarding the drugs repurposed in clinical trials and the recent status of allopathic drugs along with its result. Although vaccines are available, specific treatment is not available for the disease. Furthermore, the effect of vaccines on new variants is a new area of research at this time. Therefore, a preventive attitude is the best approach to fight against this virus.

A Systematic Review on COVID-19 Vaccine Strategies, Their Effectiveness, and Issues

COVID-19 vaccines are indispensable, with the number of cases and mortality still rising, and currently no medicines are routinely available for reducing morbidity and mortality, apart from dexamethasone, although others are being trialed and launched. To date, only a limited number of vaccines have been given emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. There is a need to systematically review the existing vaccine candidates and investigate their safety, efficacy, immunogenicity, unwanted events, and limitations. The review was undertaken by searching online databases, i.e., Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect, with finally 59 studies selected. Our findings showed several types of vaccine candidates with different strategies against SARS-CoV-2, including inactivated, mRNA-based, recombinant, and nanoparticle-based vaccines, are being developed and launched. We have compared these vaccines in terms of their efficacy, side effects, and seroconversion based on data reported in the literature. We found mRNA vaccines appeared to have better efficacy, and inactivated ones had fewer side effects and similar seroconversion in all types of vaccines. Overall, global variant surveillance and systematic tweaking of vaccines, coupled with the evaluation and administering vaccines with the same or different technology in successive doses along with homologous and heterologous prime-booster strategy, have become essential to impede the pandemic. Their effectiveness appreciably outweighs any concerns with any adverse events.

Role of nanotechnology in animal production and veterinary medicine

Nanotechnology is the discipline and technology of small and specific things that are < 100 nm in size. Because of their extremely miniscule size, any changes in their chemical and physical structure may show higher reactivity and solubility than larger particles. Nanotechnology plays a vital role in every field of life. It is considered one of the most bleeding edge field of scientific research. It has already several applications in a myriad of disciplines while its application in the field of animal production and veterinary medicine is still experimental in nature. But, in recent years, the role of nanotechnology in the aforementioned fields of scientific inquiry has shown great progress. These days, nanotechnology has been employed to revolutionize drug delivery systems and diagnose atypical diseases. Applications of nanoparticle technology in the field of animal reproduction and development of efficacious vaccines have been at the forefront of scientific endeavors. Additionally, their impacts on meat and milk quality are also being judiciously inquired in recent decades. Veterinary nanotechnology has great potential to improve diagnosis and treatment, and provide new tools to this field. This review focuses on some noteworthy applications of nanoparticles in the field of animal production and their future perspectives.

Functionalized Dendrimer Platforms as a New Forefront Arsenal Targeting SARS-CoV-2: An Opportunity

The novel human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) has caused a pandemic. There are currently several marketed vaccines and many in clinical trials targeting SARS-CoV-2. Another strategy is to repurpose approved drugs to decrease the burden of the COVID-19 (official name for the coronavirus disease) pandemic. as the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved antiviral drugs and anti-inflammatory drugs to arrest the cytokine storm, inducing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Another view to solve these unprecedented challenges is to analyze the diverse nanotechnological approaches which are able to improve the COVID-19 pandemic. In this original minireview, as promising candidates we analyze the opportunity to develop biocompatible dendrimers as drugs themselves or as nanocarriers against COVID-19 disease. From the standpoint of COVID-19, we suggest developing dendrimers as shields against COVID-19 infection based on their capacity to be incorporated in several environments outside the patients and as important means to stop transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

An insight into the risk factors of brain tumors and their therapeutic interventions

Brain tumors are an abnormal growth of cells in the brain, also known as multifactorial groups of neoplasm. Incidence rates of brain tumors increase rapidly, and it has become a leading cause of tumor related deaths globally. Several factors have potential risks for intracranial neoplasm. To date, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified the ionizing radiation and the N-nitroso compounds as established carcinogens and probable carcinogens respectively. Diagnosis of brain tumors is based on histopathology and suitable imaging techniques. Labeled amino acids and fluorodeoxyglucose with or without contrast-enhanced MRI are used for the evaluation of tumor traces. T2-weighted MRI is an advanced diagnostic implementation, used for the detection of low-grade gliomas. Treatment decisions are based on tumor size, location, type, patient's age and health status. Conventional therapeutic approaches for tumor treatment are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. While the novel strategies may include targeted therapy, electric field treatments and vaccine therapy. Inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors is an attractive tumor mitigation strategy for advanced-stage cancers; in the future, it may prove to be a useful targeted therapy. The blood-brain barrier poses a major hurdle in the transport of therapeutics towards brain tissues. Moreover, nanomedicine has gained a vital role in cancer therapy. Nano drug delivery system such as liposomal drug delivery has been widely used in the cancer treatment. Liposome encapsulated drugs have improved therapeutic efficacy than free drugs. Numerous treatment therapies for brain tumors are in advanced clinical research.

Recent Advances and Challenges in Gene Delivery Mediated by Polyester-Based Nanoparticles

Gene therapy is a promising approach for the treatment of several diseases, such as chronic or viral infections, inherited disorders, and cancer. The cellular internalization of exogenous nucleic acids (NA) requires efficient delivery vehicles to overcome their inherent pharmacokinetic drawbacks, e.g. electrostatic repulsions, enzymatic degradation, limited cellular uptake, fast clearance, etc. Nanotechnological advancements have enabled the use of polymer-based nanostructured biomaterials as safe and effective gene delivery systems, in addition to viral vector delivery methods. Among the plethora of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), this review will provide a comprehensive and in-depth summary of the polyester-based nanovehicles, including poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polylactic acid (PLA) NPs, used to deliver a variety of foreign NA, e.g. short interfering RNA (siRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), and plasmid DNA (pDNA). The article will review the versatility of polyester-based nanocarriers including their recent application in the delivery of the clustered, regularly-interspaced, short palindromic repeats/Cas (CRISPR/Cas) genome editing system for treating gene-related diseases. The remaining challenges and future trend of the targeted delivery of this revolutionary genome-editing system will be discussed. Special attention will be given to the pivotal role of nanotechnology in tackling emerging infections such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): ground-breaking mRNA vaccines delivered by NPs are currently used worldwide to fight the pandemic, pushing the boundaries of gene therapy.

Could Nanotechnology Help to End the Fight Against COVID-19? Review of Current Findings, Challenges and Future Perspectives

A serious viral infectious disease was introduced to the globe by the end of 2019 that was seen primarily from China, but spread worldwide in a few months to be a pandemic. Since then, accurate prevention, early detection, and effective treatment strategies are not yet outlined. There is no approved drug to counter its worldwide transmission. However, integration of nanostructured delivery systems with the current management strategies has promised a pronounced opportunity to tackle the pandemic. This review addressed the various promising nanotechnology-based approaches for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the pandemic. The pharmaceutical, pharmacoeconomic, and regulatory aspects of these systems with currently achieved or predicted beneficial outcomes, challenges, and future perspectives are also highlighted.

An update on novel approaches for diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has made a serious public health and economic crisis worldwide which united global efforts to develop rapid, precise, and cost-efficient diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics. Numerous multi-disciplinary studies and techniques have been designed to investigate and develop various approaches to help frontline health workers, policymakers, and populations to overcome the disease. While these techniques have been reviewed within individual disciplines, it is now timely to provide a cross-disciplinary overview of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches summarizing complementary efforts across multiple fields of research and technology. Accordingly, we reviewed and summarized various advanced novel approaches used for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 to help researchers across diverse disciplines on their prioritization of resources for research and development and to give them better a picture of the latest techniques. These include artificial intelligence, nano-based, CRISPR-based, and mass spectrometry technologies as well as neutralizing factors and traditional medicines. We also reviewed new approaches for vaccine development and developed a dashboard to provide frequent updates on the current and future approved vaccines.

Evaluation of the effects of nanoparticles on the therapeutic function of platelet: a review

OBJECTIVES

Nanotechnology and nanoparticles are used in different applications in disease monitoring and therapy in contact with blood. Nanoparticles showed different effects on blood components and reduced or improved the function of therapeutic platelet during the storage time. This review study was performed to evaluate the impacts of various sizes and charges of nanoparticles on platelet function and storage time. The present review contains the literature between 2010 and 2020. The data have been used from different sites such as PubMed, Wiley, ScienceDirect and online electronic journals.

KEY FINDINGS

From the literature survey, it has been demonstrated that among various properties, size and charge of nanoparticles were critical on the function of therapeutic platelet during the storage and inhibition of their aggregation. Overall, this study described that nanoparticles with smaller size and negative charge were more effective in increasing the survival time, inhibition of aggregation and improving the function of therapeutic platelet.

SUMMARY

Based on the current review, it can be confirmed that nanoparticles such as dendrimer, Au, Ag and iron oxide nanoparticles with smaller size and negative charge have significant advantages for improving the efficacy of platelets during the storage chain and inhibition of their aggregation.

Nanoparticles in nanomedicine: a comprehensive updated review on current status, challenges and emerging opportunities

The fast progress in nanomedicine and nanoparticles (NP) materials presents unconventional solutions which are expected to revolutionise health care with great potentials including, enhanced efficacy, bioavailability, drug targeting, and safety. This review provides a comprehensive update on widely used organic and inorganic NP with emphasis on the recent development, challenges and future prospective for bio applications where, further investigations into innovative synthesis methodologies, properties and applications of NP would possibly reveal new improved biomedical relevance. NP exhibits exceptional physical and chemical properties due to their high surface area to volume ratio and nanoscale size, which led to breakthroughs in therapeutic, diagnostic and screening techniques repeated line. Finally, an update of FDA-approved NP is explored where innovative design engineering allowed a paradigmatic shift in their market share. This review would serve as a discerning comprehensive source of information for learners who are seeking a cutting-edge review but have been astounded by the size of publications.

Nanomedicine: A Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach to COVID-19

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is causing devastating morbidity and mortality worldwide. Nanomedicine approaches have a high potential to enhance conventional diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. In fact, lipid nanoparticle/mRNA vaccines are already widely used to protect from COVID-19. In this review, we present an overview of the taxonomy, structure, variants of concern, epidemiology, pathophysiology and detection methods of SARS-CoV-2. The efforts of repurposing, tailoring, and adapting pre-existing medications to battle COVID-19 and the state of vaccine developments are presented. Next, we discuss the broad concepts and limitations of how nanomedicine could address the COVID-19 threat. Nanomaterials are particles in the nanometer scale (10-100 nm) which possess unique properties related to their size, polarity, structural and chemical composition. Nanoparticles can be composed of precious metals (copper, silver, gold), inorganic materials (graphene, silicon), proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, RNA/DNA, or conjugates, combinations and polymers of all of the aforementioned. The advanced biochemical features of these nanoscale particles allow them to directly interact with virions and irreversibly disrupt their structure, which can render a virus incapable of replicating within the host. Virus-neutralizing coats and surfaces impregnated with nanomaterials can enhance personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers and air filter systems. Nanoparticles can enhance drug-based therapies by optimizing uptake, stability, target cell-specific delivery, and magnetic properties. In fact, recent studies have highlighted the potential of nanoparticles in different aspects of the fight against SARS-CoV-2, such as enhancing biosensors and diagnostic tests, drug therapies, designing new delivery mechanisms, and optimizing vaccines. This article summarizes the ongoing research on diagnostic strategies, treatments, and vaccines for COVID-19, while emphasizing the potential of nanoparticle-based pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

Hydrotalcite-Niclosamide Nanohybrid as Oral Formulation towards SARS-CoV-2 Viral Infections

COVID-19 has been affecting millions of individuals worldwide and, thus far, there is no accurate therapeutic strategy. This critical situation necessitates novel formulations for already existing, FDA approved, but poorly absorbable drug candidates, such as niclosamide (NIC), which is of great relevance. In this context, we have rationally designed NIC-loaded hydrotalcite composite nanohybrids, which were further coated with Tween 60 or hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), and characterized them in vitro. The optimized nanohybrids showed particle sizes <300 nm and were orally administrated to rats to determine whether they could retain an optimum plasma therapeutic concentration of NIC that would be effective for treating COVID-19. The pharmacokinetic (PK) results clearly indicated that hydrotalcite-based NIC formulations could be highly potential options for treating the ongoing pandemic and we are on our way to understanding the in vivo anti-viral efficacy sooner. It is worth mentioning that hydrotalcite–NIC nanohybrids maintained a therapeutic NIC level, even above the required IC₅₀ value, after just a single administration in 8–12 h. In conclusion, we were very successfully able to develop a NIC oral formulation by immobilizing with hydrotalcite nanoparticles, which were further coated with Tween 60 or HPMC, in order to enhance their emulsification in the gastrointestinal tract.