Background: The rapid emergence and global spread of the COVID-19 causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its subsequent mutated strains, has caused unprecedented health, economic and social devastation. Respiratory viruses can be transmitted through both direct and indirect channels, including aerosol respiratory droplets and contamination of inanimate surfaces. Current methods of virus inactivation on surfaces include chemicals and biocides and while effective, continuous, and repetitive cleaning of all surfaces is not always viable. Recent work in the field of biomaterials engineering has established the antibacterial effects of hydrothermally synthesised TiO 2 nanostructured surfaces against both Gram-negative and positive bacteria. This study investigates the effectiveness of TiO 2 nanostructured surfaces against two human coronaviruses: SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-NL63 for surface-based inactivation. Results: : Results show that structured surfaces reduced live infectious viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-NL63 by 5 log and 3 log, respectively after 5 hours compared to non-structured surfaces. Interestingly, infectious virus remained present on the control plastic surface after 7 hours exposure. Conclusions: : These encouraging results establish the potential use of nanostructured surfaces to reduce the transmission and spread of coronaviruses, by reducing the virus’ infectious period on a surface. The dual antiviral and antibacterial properties of these surfaces give them potential application in high-risk environments such as hospitals and healthcare settings.
Antiviral Nanostructures That Reduce the Viability of Coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-NL63 (preprint)