Jones GW, Monopoli MP, Campagnolo L, Pietroiusti A, Tran L, Fadeel B. No small matter: a perspective on nanotechnology-enabled solutions to fight COVID-19.
Nanomedicine (Lond) 2020;
15:2411-2427. [PMID:
32873192 PMCID:
PMC7488724 DOI:
10.2217/nnm-2020-0286]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an urgent need for safe and effective approaches to combat COVID-19. Here, we asked whether lessons learned from nanotoxicology and nanomedicine could shed light on the current pandemic. SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent, may trigger a mild, self-limiting disease with respiratory symptoms, but patients may also succumb to a life-threatening systemic disease. The host response to the virus is equally complex and studies are now beginning to unravel the immunological correlates of COVID-19. Nanotechnology can be applied for the delivery of antiviral drugs or other repurposed drugs. Moreover, recent work has shown that synthetic nanoparticles wrapped with host-derived cellular membranes may prevent virus infection. We posit that nanoparticles decorated with ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, could be exploited as decoys to intercept the virus before it infects cells in the respiratory tract. However, close attention should be paid to biocompatibility before such nano-decoys are deployed in the clinic.
Collapse