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Audio Interview

Nanotechnologies in the fight against coronaviruses

Published on June 2, 2020   17 min

A selection of talks on Infectious Diseases

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Interviewer: Professor Szunerits, thank you for taking the time today to discuss the possible role of nanotechnology against human coronavirus infections. Could you please put into context the interest of nanotechnological approaches to viral infections, such as those caused by coronaviruses? Prof. Szunerits: Thank you very much for much for giving us the opportunity to talk about this field in which we've been involved in various aspects for some years. Prof. Szunerits: Nanotechnology in the form of nanoparticles, nanostructured surfaces up to the use of single-domain antibodies (called nanobodies) can help provide solutions to four main issues in the fight against viral infection and spreading. These four issues are: the search for efficient and specific antiviral strategies which will result in the deactivation of the virus, the development of nanotechnological aspects to detect the viral load in patients (this will limit viral spread), eventually to help in the formulation of vaccines or vaccines themselves, and development of self-deactivating devices like antiviral masks. Generally speaking, nanodiagnostics rely on the detection of the coronavirus biomarkers in nasal swabs or saliva samples using different nanotechnological approaches such as field-effect transistors, gold nanoparticles (in the form of localized surface plasmon resonance-sensing), or the use of handheld point-of-care devices for viral sensing.

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