A nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant provides long-lasting effect on Covid

Debarati Basu, Makaut WB

Researchers at the University of Central Florida lead to the development of disinfectants based on nanoparticles. These disinfectants can continuously kill the viruses from the surface for up to seven days. It is considered that this discovery can be used as a significant weapon against COVID-19 and other evolving viruses. The researcher team’s findings of the new university’s virus and engineering experts and Orlando technology firm’s leader were published in ACS Nano. ACS Nano is an American Chemical Society’s journal.

Christina Drake developed the disinfectant. He is the alumna of UFC and also the founder of Kismet Technologies. He got the idea of developing the disinfectant when he visited a grocery shop during the early pandemic period. In the grocery shop, he saw the worker spraying disinfectant on the handle of the refrigerator. Drake also saw the worker immediately wiping the spray off. He further said that he wanted to develop a fast-acting disinfectant. He started talking with doctors and dentists to understand their criteria for a disinfectant. Drake wanted to know the factors they are looking for a long-lasting disinfectant that would be effective on high-touch areas after application.

Christina Drake teamed with Dr. Sudipta Seal and Dr. Griff Parks. Dr. Seal is a material engineer at UCF and also an expert in nanoscience. Dr. Parks is a virologist of the College of Medicine and also the director and associate dean of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. The nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant was developed by utilizing the funds from the National Science Foundation, the Florida High Tech Corridor, and Kismet Tech.

Components of the disinfectant:

• The main component of the nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant is called cerium oxide. The cerium oxide has regenerative antioxidant characteristics. Modifications of cerium oxide nanoparticles with a little amount of silver are performed. It is mainly done to increase their effectiveness against pathogens. Dr. Sudipta Seal is working in the field of nanotechnology for more than 20 years. She said that the nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant can perform both chemically and mechanically. She further stated that the nanoparticles can emit electrons which can oxidize the virus and thus the virus becomes inactive. The mechanical property includes the ability of the nanoparticles to get attached to the virus. This will cause the rupturing of the surface like bursting a balloon.

Properties of the disinfectant:

• One of the properties of the disinfectants is their ability to disinfect surfaces within a short time i.e. three to six minutes of application. They also have almost no residual effects. It means wiping of the surfaces should be repeatedly carried out for keeping them clean from various viruses which include COVID-19. One property of the nanoparticles is their ability to inactivate microbes. Another property includes the ability to keep the surfaces disinfected for up to seven days after its single application. So, there is no need for continuous applications.
• Dr. Griff Parks stated that the nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant also has antiviral activity against seven different types of viruses. He also said that the disinfectant has antiviral properties towards coronavirus and rhinovirus. It also has antiviral properties against a wide range of different types of viruses that differs structurally. He said that he is hopeful this disinfectant will be effective in killing the new emerging viruses.
• The researchers are hoping that this new disinfectant will play an important role in health care areas. They will be effective mainly in decreasing the rate of hospital-acquired infections. These infections include Methicillin which is resistant against Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Clostridium difficile. These infections can hospitalize one out of 30 people as recorded in US hospitals.
• The nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant does not contain harmful chemicals like many commercial disinfectants. As a result, the new disinfectants will be safe for application on any surface as well as for our skin and eyes. Drake said that majority of the household disinfectants contain harmful chemicals. But the nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant has a high safety rating so they decrease the chemical exposure for humans, unlike commercial disinfectants.

Conclusion

The new disinfectant is ready to go next phase of the trial to determine its effectiveness in the real world outside the labs. It will also determine external factors such as sunlight, high temperatures affecting the disinfectants. The trial will be done in the local hospitals before making it available in the markets. Drake further said that they are trying to develop a semi-permeable film. The main purpose of developing such a film is to see its ability to coat and seal the door handles and hospital floors that needed continuous disinfection.

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References:

1. Neal, C. J., Fox, C. R., Sakthivel, T. S., Kumar, U., Fu, Y., Drake, C., Parks, G. D., & Seal, S. (2021). Metal-mediated nanoscale cerium oxide inactivates human coronavirus and rhinovirus by surface disruption. ACS Nano, acsnano.1c04142. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c04142

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