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Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus

The antimicrobial properties of photocatalysts have long been studied. However, most of the available literature describes their antibacterial properties, while knowledge of their antiviral activity is rather scarce. Since the outset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an increasing...

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Autores principales: Álvarez, Ángel L., Dalton, Kevin P., Nicieza, Inés, Abade Dos Santos, Fabio A., de la Peña, Pilar, Domínguez, Pedro, Martin-Alonso, José M., Parra, Francisco
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society for Microbiology 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9241891/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35506680
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00269-22
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author Álvarez, Ángel L.
Dalton, Kevin P.
Nicieza, Inés
Abade Dos Santos, Fabio A.
de la Peña, Pilar
Domínguez, Pedro
Martin-Alonso, José M.
Parra, Francisco
author_facet Álvarez, Ángel L.
Dalton, Kevin P.
Nicieza, Inés
Abade Dos Santos, Fabio A.
de la Peña, Pilar
Domínguez, Pedro
Martin-Alonso, José M.
Parra, Francisco
author_sort Álvarez, Ángel L.
collection PubMed
description The antimicrobial properties of photocatalysts have long been studied. However, most of the available literature describes their antibacterial properties, while knowledge of their antiviral activity is rather scarce. Since the outset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an increasing body of research has suggested their antiviral potential and highlighted the need for further research in this area. In this study, we investigated the virucidal properties of a commercial TiO(2)-coated photocatalytic glass against a model human coronavirus. Our findings demonstrate that the TiO(2)-coated glass consistently inactivates coronaviruses upon contact under daylight illumination, in a time-dependent manner. A 99% drop in virus titer was achieved after 3.9 h. The electron micrographs of virus-covered TiO(2)-glass showed a reduced number of virions compared to control glass. Morphological alterations of TiO(2)-exposed viruses included deformation, disruption of the viral envelope, and virion ghosts, endorsing the application of this material in the construction of protective elements to mitigate the transmission of viruses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing direct visual evidence of human coronaviruses being damaged and morphologically altered following exposure to this photocatalyst. IMPORTANCE Surface contamination is an important contributor to SARS-CoV-2 spread. The use of personal protective elements and physical barriers (i.e., masks, gloves, and indoor glass separators) increases safety and has proven invaluable in preventing contagion. Redesigning these barriers so that the virus cannot remain infectious on them could make a difference in COVID-19 epidemiology. The introduction of additives with virucidal activity could potentiate the protective effects of these barriers to serve not only as physical containment but also as virus killers, reducing surface contamination after hand touch or aerosol deposition. We performed in-depth analysis of the kinetics of photocatalysis-triggered coronavirus inactivation on building glass coated with TiO(2). This is the first report showing direct visual evidence (electron microscopy) of coronaviruses being morphologically damaged following exposure to this photocatalyst, demonstrating the high potential of this material to be incorporated into daily-life high-touch surfaces, giving them an added value in decelerating the virus spread.
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spelling pubmed-92418912022-06-30 Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus Álvarez, Ángel L. Dalton, Kevin P. Nicieza, Inés Abade Dos Santos, Fabio A. de la Peña, Pilar Domínguez, Pedro Martin-Alonso, José M. Parra, Francisco Microbiol Spectr Research Article The antimicrobial properties of photocatalysts have long been studied. However, most of the available literature describes their antibacterial properties, while knowledge of their antiviral activity is rather scarce. Since the outset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an increasing body of research has suggested their antiviral potential and highlighted the need for further research in this area. In this study, we investigated the virucidal properties of a commercial TiO(2)-coated photocatalytic glass against a model human coronavirus. Our findings demonstrate that the TiO(2)-coated glass consistently inactivates coronaviruses upon contact under daylight illumination, in a time-dependent manner. A 99% drop in virus titer was achieved after 3.9 h. The electron micrographs of virus-covered TiO(2)-glass showed a reduced number of virions compared to control glass. Morphological alterations of TiO(2)-exposed viruses included deformation, disruption of the viral envelope, and virion ghosts, endorsing the application of this material in the construction of protective elements to mitigate the transmission of viruses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing direct visual evidence of human coronaviruses being damaged and morphologically altered following exposure to this photocatalyst. IMPORTANCE Surface contamination is an important contributor to SARS-CoV-2 spread. The use of personal protective elements and physical barriers (i.e., masks, gloves, and indoor glass separators) increases safety and has proven invaluable in preventing contagion. Redesigning these barriers so that the virus cannot remain infectious on them could make a difference in COVID-19 epidemiology. The introduction of additives with virucidal activity could potentiate the protective effects of these barriers to serve not only as physical containment but also as virus killers, reducing surface contamination after hand touch or aerosol deposition. We performed in-depth analysis of the kinetics of photocatalysis-triggered coronavirus inactivation on building glass coated with TiO(2). This is the first report showing direct visual evidence (electron microscopy) of coronaviruses being morphologically damaged following exposure to this photocatalyst, demonstrating the high potential of this material to be incorporated into daily-life high-touch surfaces, giving them an added value in decelerating the virus spread. American Society for Microbiology 2022-05-04 /pmc/articles/PMC9241891/ /pubmed/35506680 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00269-22 Text en Copyright © 2022 Álvarez et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Research Article
Álvarez, Ángel L.
Dalton, Kevin P.
Nicieza, Inés
Abade Dos Santos, Fabio A.
de la Peña, Pilar
Domínguez, Pedro
Martin-Alonso, José M.
Parra, Francisco
Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus
title Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus
title_full Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus
title_fullStr Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus
title_full_unstemmed Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus
title_short Virucidal Properties of Photocatalytic Coating on Glass against a Model Human Coronavirus
title_sort virucidal properties of photocatalytic coating on glass against a model human coronavirus
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9241891/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35506680
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00269-22
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