Nanoparticles as an exotic antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral agents

Globally, concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic its prevention have become important. Because of COVID-19 and other microbial diseases, enhance research work has emerged revealing new antimicrobial and antiviral materials and techniques. Tremendous growth in nanotechnology has opened up the door to fabricating numerous nanomaterials. These nanomaterials are employed as antimicrobial and antiviral agents for various applications with 99.99% effectiveness compared with conventional techniques. Nanoparticles possess unique physicochemical characteristics for multiple applications. This chapter details the use of nanoparticles for antifungal, antimicrobial, and antiviral applications. It describes various kinds of nanoparticles, such as nanometals, metal oxides, polymeric nanomaterials, and carbon-based nanomaterials. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research Progress of Antiviral Coatings

With the large-scale spread of COVID-19 around the world, it has caused serious damage to the health of people around the world. In addition to being transmitted by various droplets, viruses can also be transmitted by human touch of contaminated surfaces. However, as a commonly used surface antiviral method, disinfectants have the disadvantage of discontinuously inactivating viruses, which is bad for inhibiting the spread of various infectious viruses. Therefore, it is urgent to protect the surface of daily objects from virus pollution to eliminate the spread of various respiratory viruses ( such as Corona Virus Disease 2019, SARS-CoV-2). From this point of view, it is very important to design and develop effective antiviral coatings. This paper discusses the working mechanisms, performance evaluation methods, processing technologies, practical applications and research progress of nanoparticle antiviral coatings and polymer antiviral coatings for SARS-CoV-2, and also proposes some strategies to design more effective antiviral coatings from the perspective of different types of antiviral coatings. Although some of these antiviral coatings are still in the experimental stage, they still show great potential in the antiviral field.

Antiviral Activity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles against SARS-CoV-2.

The highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets, aerosols, and contaminated surfaces. In addition to antiviral drugs, the decontamination of surfaces and personal protective equipment (PPE) is crucial to mitigate the spread of infection. Conventional approaches, including ultraviolet radiation, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, heat and liquid chemicals, can damage materials or lack comprehensive, effective disinfection. Consequently, alternative material-compatible and sustainable methods, such as nanomaterial coatings, are needed. Therefore, the antiviral activity of two novel zinc-oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) against SARS-CoV-2 was investigated in vitro. Each nanoparticle was produced by applying highly efficient "green" synthesis techniques, which are free of fossil derivatives and use nitrate, chlorate and sulfonate salts as starting materials and whey as chelating agents. The two "green" nanomaterials differ in size distribution, with ZnO-NP-45 consisting of particles ranging from 30 nm to 60 nm and ZnO-NP-76 from 60 nm to 92 nm. Human lung epithelial cells (Calu-3) were infected with SARS-CoV-2, pre-treated in suspensions with increasing ZnO-NP concentrations up to 20 mg/mL. Both "green" materials were compared to commercially available ZnO-NP as a reference. While all three materials were active against both virus variants at concentrations of 10-20 mg/mL, ZnO-NP-45 was found to be more active than ZnO-NP-76 and the reference material, resulting in the inactivation of the Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants by a factor of more than 106. This effect could be due to its greater total reactive surface, as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Higher variations in virus inactivation were found for the latter two nanomaterials, ZnO-NP-76 and ZnO-NP-ref, which putatively may be due to secondary infections upon incomplete inactivation inside infected cells caused by insufficient NP loading of the virions. Taken together, inactivation with 20 mg/mL ZnO-NP-45 seems to have the greatest effect on both SARS-CoV-2 variants tested. Prospective ZnO-NP applications include an antiviral coating of filters or PPE to enhance user protection.

From Biowaste to Lab-Bench: Low-Cost Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for RNA Extraction and SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostics.

The gold standard for diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus is based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using centralized PCR facilities and commercial viral RNA extraction kits. One of the key components of these kits are magnetic beads composed of silica coated magnetic iron oxide (Fe2O3 or Fe3O4) nanoparticles, needed for the selective extraction of RNA. At the beginning of the pandemic in 2019, due to a high demand across the world there were severe shortages of many reagents and consumables, including these magnetic beads required for testing for SARS-CoV-2. Laboratories needed to source these products elsewhere, preferably at a comparable or lower cost. Here, we describe the development of a simple, low-cost and scalable preparation of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) from biowaste and demonstrate their successful application in viral RNA extraction and the detection of COVID-19. These MNPs have a unique nanoplatelet shape with a high surface area, which are beneficial features, expected to provide improved RNA adsorption, better dispersion and processing ability compared with commercial spherical magnetic beads. Their performance in COVID-19 RNA extraction was evaluated in comparison with commercial magnetic beads and the results presented here showed comparable results for high throughput PCR analysis. The presented magnetic nanoplatelets generated from biomass waste are safe, low-cost, simple to produce in large scale and could provide a significantly reduced cost of nucleic acid extraction for SARS-CoV-2 and other DNA and RNA viruses.

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Applications in the Field of Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the sixth mos common human disease that causes about 17.3 million deaths yearly Advancement in nanomedicine enables the usage of nanomaterials fo treating cardiac disorders. Among these, Cerium Oxide (CeO2 nanoparticle is gaining attention due to their irreversible oxidativ states (Ce3+ and Ce4+), which provide them with many unique physiologically important traits like antioxidant property, Anti inflammatory property, free radicle scavenging potential etc. All thes features make CeO2 an excellent agent for treating many cardia related disorders. We have used the search engines PubMed an Google scholar to identify the relevant papers in last 5 years on thi topic. Some old classical articles were also identified, and the review was written based on these relevant papers. Cerium nanoparticle (CeNPs) are being used in the therapy of CVD mainly for reducin oxidative stress, inflammation, and damage caused by free radicals CeO2 can also protect endothelial cells (ECs) from apoptosis. It can b used as a wound-healing agent during cardiac surgeries. This i because of its potential to enhance endothelialization. In this article we reviewed various applications of CeO2 in the field of CVD.Copyright © 2023 Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. All rights reserved.

A review on role of nitrous oxide nanoparticles, potential vaccine targets, drug, health care and artificial intelligence to combat COVID-19.

The lives of human individuals and groups around the globe have changed drastically due to the emergence of novel corona virus in late 2019. The significant part of CoV-19 from the global point is transmission rate, and therefore, it is mandatory to identify and isolate the affected persons even with the mild infection. To stop the rapid transmission of virus to drastic manner, it is essential to follow the hygienic practices, identification of potential vaccines and proper health care management systems to combat the novel virus. Despite the serious mortality rates and high confirmed cases, at present, there is no proven treatment and vaccine to treat the pandemic coronavirus. The current review prioritizes the recent trends in the health care sector, vaccine development pipeline and artificial intelligence role to combat CoV-2. Due to the unprecedented situation, the health care professionals was under high working stress and they were pushed to make serious decisions on time. Several health care workers pose directly threat to the occupational health risk. Besides, the industry is also experiencing a decrease in the outpatient footfalls along with the reduction of international patients. Furthermore, the services such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular affected by 53%, 49%, 42% and 31%, respectively, due to the pandemic. Vaccines and treatments are the urgent need and have been extensively on progress worldwide. Despite the new technologies, the effectiveness of the old antiviral, such as Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir-Ritonavir, Nafamostat and Camostat, and Remdesiviron COVID-19, was reviewed. The reviews on different vaccinations were effective in the understanding the efficiency of drugs in reducing the symptoms of COVID-19. Although vaccination and social distancing can reduce the infection, the role of the Artificial intelligence technology will enable the highest reduction of the COVID-19 infection by reducing the time and increasing the reliability.

Green Synthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Based on Cestrum diurnum L. of Potential Antiviral Activity against Human Corona 229-E Virus.

SARS-CoV-2 has caused more than 596 million infections and 6 million fatalities globally. Looking for urgent medication for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation is obligatory. Plant extracts and green synthesized nanoparticles have numerous biological activities, including antiviral activity. HPLC analysis of C. dirnum L. leaf extract showed that catechin, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, and syringic acid were the most major compounds, with concentrations of 1425.16, 1004.68, 207.46, and 158.95 µg/g, respectively. Zinc nanoparticles were biosynthesized using zinc acetate and C. dirnum extract. TEM analysis revealed that the particle size of ZnO-NPs varied between 3.406 and 4.857 nm. An XRD study showed the existence of hexagonal crystals of ZnO-NPs with an average size of 12.11 nm. Both ZnO-NPs (IC50 = 7.01 and CC50 = 145.77) and C. dirnum L. extract (IC50 = 61.15 and CC50 = 145.87 µg/mL) showed antiviral activity against HCOV-229E, but their combination (IC50 = 2.41 and CC50 = 179.23) showed higher activity than both. Molecular docking was used to investigate the affinity of some metabolites against the HCOV-229E main protease. Chlorogenic acid, solanidine, and catchin showed high affinity (-7.13, -6.95, and -6.52), compared to the ligand MDP (-5.66 Kcal/mol). Cestrum dinurum extract and ZnO-NPs combination should be subjected to further studies to be used as an antiviral drug.

Using nanomaterials to address SARS-CoV-2 variants through development of vaccines and therapeutics

Nanomaterials have played a significant role in effectively combating the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that began in December 2019 through the development of vaccines as well as antiviral therapies. These versatile, tunable materials can interact and deliver a broad range of biologically relevant molecules for preventing COVID-19 infection, generating immunity against COVID-19, and treating infected patients. Application of these nanomaterials and nanotechnologies can further be investigated in conjunction with disease models of COVID-19 and this holds immense potential for accelerating vaccine or therapeutic process development further encouraging the elimination of animal model use during preclinical stages. This review examines the existing literature on COVID-19 related nanomaterial applications, including perspective on nanotechnology-based vaccines and therapeutics, and discusses how these tools can be adapted to address new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. We also analyze the limitations of current nanomaterial approaches to managing COVID-19 and its variants alongside the challenges posed when implementing this technology. We end by providing avenues for future developments specific to disease modelling in this ever-evolving field.

Recent development of antiviral nano-coatings for COVID-19 management-a review

Global pandemic COVID-19 has affected almost the entire world population in every aspect of life in terms of health, environment, and economy. According to WHO, the main source of transmission of this deadly virus (SARS-CoV-2) is proven to be through the aerosol coming from the infected person's cough, sneeze, or exhalation. These aerosols are likely to settle down on the exposed surfaces and such infected surfaces are known to be potential source of contamination. The spread of the viral infections can be controlled in a great extent with the development of anti-viral nano-coating materials for various surfaces. Thus, development of such anti-viral nano-coating materials becomes increasingly popular amongst the researchers due to their extensive applications on surfaces, such as, glass, cotton, plastic and many more. In this short review, we will describe a summary of the popular metals and metal oxide nanomaterials commonly explored as antiviral coatings to control the spread of various viral disease along with the corresponding working principle and effectivity of such coatings.

A review on 2D-ZnO nanostructure based biosensors: from materials to devices

During the COVID'19 outbreak, biosensing devices won increasing relevance, demonstrating their potential in the medical diagnostic field. Hence, the present review reports on the main advances in 2D-ZnO nanostructure-based biosensors. So far, bulk ZnO has shown potential for biosensing, optical, and power electronic applications, mainly based on its wide band gap. In the post graphene era, its 2-D allotropes like ZnO sheets and ZnO nanoribbons have outperformed the bulk ZnO structures for specific applications. ZnO demonstrates various stable and feasible morphologies: nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods, nanosheets, nanoparticles, and nanobelts. As a matrix layer in biosensing applications, ZnO strongly binds to biomolecules due to its high isoelectric point (IEP) and shows a strong sensitivity due to the high surface-to-volume ratio. Further, ZnO nanostructures used as a matrix layer play an important role in inhibiting specific biological interactions and hence improve the sensitivity of sensing devices. Further, bioselective layers are typically immobilized onto ZnO either by direct adsorption or by covalent binding. ZnO based biosensors are categorized into optical, piezoelectric, and electrochemical biosensors, among others, based on their biosensing mechanism. In particular, electrochemical sensors produce signals via an electrical pathway for detecting and monitoring the target molecules. Optical sensors produce signals based on luminescence or reflectance, among others. Piezoelectric biosensors produce signals by mass loading of the piezoelectric material. ZnO-based FET biosensors are also reported, showing sensing application by the change in the channel's conductance. Further, recent literature on the detection of COVID-19 using ZnO nanostructures is presented.

Investigating the Antibacterial Activity and Safety of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles versus a Commercial Alcohol-Based Hand-Sanitizer: Can Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Be Useful for Hand Sanitation?

Hand hygiene is the key factor to control and prevent the spread of infections, for example, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). People commonly use alcohol-based hand sanitizers to assure hand hygiene. However, frequent use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in a pandemic situation (e.g., COVID-19) was associated with serious drawbacks such as skin toxicity including irritation, skin dermatitis, and skin dryness or cracking, along with peeling, redness, or itching with higher possibility of infection. This demands the development of alternative novel products that are effective as alcohol-based hand sanitizers but have no hazardous effects. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are known to have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, be compatible with the biological system and the environment, and have applicable and economic industrial-scale production. Thus, ZnO-NPs might be a good candidate for hand sanitation. To the best of our knowledge, the antibacterial activity of ZnO-NPs in comparison to alcohol-based hand sanitizers has not yet been studied. In the present work, a comparative study of the antibacterial activity of ZnO-NPs vs. Sterillium, a commercial alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is commonly used in Egyptian hospitals, was performed against common microorganisms known to cause HAIs in Egypt, including Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Staphylococcus aureus. The safety profiles of ZnO-NPs and Sterillium were also assessed. The obtained results demonstrated the superior antibacterial activity and safety of ZnO-NPs compared to Sterillium. Therefore, ZnO-NPs could be a promising candidate for hand sanitation in comparison to alcohol-based hand sanitizers; however, several studies related to long-term toxicity and stability of ZnO-NPs and investigations into their antimicrobial activity and safety in healthcare settings are still required in the future to ascertain their antimicrobial activity and safety.

Antifungal Effect of Nanoparticles against COVID-19 Linked Black Fungus: A Perspective on Biomedical Applications.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus that has caused a 'coronavirus disease 2019' (COVID-19) pandemic in multiple waves, which threatens human health and public safety. During this pandemic, some patients with COVID-19 acquired secondary infections, such as mucormycosis, also known as black fungus disease. Mucormycosis is a serious, acute, and deadly fungal infection caused by Mucorales-related fungal species, and it spreads rapidly. Hence, prompt diagnosis and treatment are necessary to avoid high mortality and morbidity rates. Major risk factors for this disease include uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and immunosuppression that can also facilitate increases in mucormycosis infections. The extensive use of steroids to prevent the worsening of COVID-19 can lead to black fungus infection. Generally, antifungal agents dedicated to medical applications must be biocompatible, non-toxic, easily soluble, efficient, and hypoallergenic. They should also provide long-term protection against fungal growth. COVID-19-related black fungus infection causes a severe increase in fatalities. Therefore, there is a strong need for the development of novel and efficient antimicrobial agents. Recently, nanoparticle-containing products available in the market have been used as antimicrobial agents to prevent bacterial growth, but little is known about their efficacy with respect to preventing fungal growth, especially black fungus. The present review focuses on the effect of various types of metal nanoparticles, specifically those containing silver, zinc oxide, gold, copper, titanium, magnetic, iron, and carbon, on the growth of various types of fungi. We particularly focused on how these nanoparticles can impact the growth of black fungus. We also discussed black fungus co-infection in the context of the global COVID-19 outbreak, and management and guidelines to help control COVID-19-associated black fungus infection. Finally, this review aimed to elucidate the relationship between COVID-19 and mucormycosis.

Advanced Face Mask Filters Based on PCL Electrospun Meshes Dopped with Antimicrobial MgO and CuO Nanoparticles.

The pandemic situation caused by coronavirus clearly demonstrated the need for alternatives able to protect the respiratory tract and inactivate the infectious agents. Based on this, antibacterial face-mask filters of polycaprolactone (PCL) dopped with magnesium oxide (MgO) and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) were produced using an electrospinning technique. A morphological analysis of electrospun meshes evaluated the success of nanoparticles' incorporation as well as the average fibers' diameters (481 ± 272 nm). The performance of electrospun nanofibers was also assessed in terms of tensile strength (0.88 ± 0.25 MPa), water vapor permeability (11,178.66 ± 35.78 g·m-2·day-1), stability under wet conditions and antibacterial activity according to the standard guidelines. The filters showed structural stability up to 2 h of washing and improved antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) for optimized concentrations of MgO and CuO NPs. Overall, electrospun meshes with antibacterial activity were successfully developed for advanced filtering applications.

Genetically Engineered MRI-Trackable Extracellular Vesicles as SARS-CoV-2 Mimetics for Mapping ACE2 Binding In Vivo.

The elucidation of viral-receptor interactions and an understanding of virus-spreading mechanisms are of great importance, particularly in the era of a pandemic. Indeed, advances in computational chemistry, synthetic biology, and protein engineering have allowed precise prediction and characterization of such interactions. Nevertheless, the hazards of the infectiousness of viruses, their rapid mutagenesis, and the need to study viral-receptor interactions in a complex in vivo setup call for further developments. Here, we show the development of biocompatible genetically engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) that display the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 on their surface as coronavirus mimetics (EVsRBD). Loading EVsRBD with iron oxide nanoparticles makes them MRI-visible and, thus, allows mapping of the binding of RBD to ACE2 receptors noninvasively in live subjects. Moreover, we show that EVsRBD can be modified to display mutants of the RBD of SARS-CoV-2, allowing rapid screening of currently raised or predicted variants of the virus. The proposed platform thus shows relevance and cruciality in the examination of quickly evolving pathogenic viruses in an adjustable, fast, and safe manner. Relying on MRI for visualization, the presented approach could be considered in the future to map ligand-receptor binding events in deep tissues, which are not accessible to luminescence-based imaging.

Zinc Nanomaterials: A Double-Edged Sword in Detection and Prevention against SARS-CoV-2 Spread (A Review)

The rise of ongoing Covid SARS-CoV-2 drove pandemic disease has created the perpetual interest for the assessment and improvement of reasonable progressed materials for controlling this and future unexpected viral diseases. One of the fundamental worries about this pandemic situation is the analysis and identification of infected patients. In this regard, the utilization of zinc-based nanomaterials to identify the vital biological markers of the SARS-CoV-2 remains a prevalent bother, whereas the advancement of particular and delicate devices is the essential objective. To obstruct virus proliferation, the expanding interest for self-disinfected covering requires elective materials to satisfy this problem. In this unique situation, zinc nanomaterials have given a fundamental commitment to the administration of Covid-19. Zinc nanomaterials have displayed huge antiviral action against a few infections like flu and Covids. This review delineates the importance of nanotechnology mediation in settling this tough condition.

Iron oxide and iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles impair SARS-CoV-2 infection of cultured cells.

BACKGROUND: Coronaviruses usually cause mild respiratory disease in humans but as seen recently, some human coronaviruses can cause more severe diseases, such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the global spread of which has resulted in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. RESULTS: In this study we analyzed the potential of using iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) coated with biocompatible molecules like dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APS) or carboxydextran (FeraSpin™ R), as well as iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles (IOHNPs) coated with sucrose (Venofer®), or iron salts (ferric ammonium citrate -FAC), to treat and/or prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. At non-cytotoxic doses, IONPs and IOHNPs impaired virus replication and transcription, and the production of infectious viruses in vitro, either when the cells were treated prior to or after infection, although with different efficiencies. Moreover, our data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection affects the expression of genes involved in cellular iron metabolism. Furthermore, the treatment of cells with IONPs and IOHNPs affects oxidative stress and iron metabolism to different extents, likely influencing virus replication and production. Interestingly, some of the nanoparticles used in this work have already been approved for their use in humans as anti-anemic treatments, such as the IOHNP Venofer®, and as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging in small animals like mice, such as the FeraSpin™ R IONP. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, our results suggest that IONPs and IOHNPs may be repurposed to be used as prophylactic or therapeutic treatments in order to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In Silico Studies on Zinc Oxide Based Nanostructured Oil Carriers with Seed Extracts of Nigella sativa and Pimpinella anisum as Potential Inhibitors of 3CL Protease of SARS-CoV-2.

Coming into the second year of the pandemic, the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants continue to be a serious health hazard globally. A surge in the omicron wave, despite the discovery of the vaccines, has shifted the attention of research towards the discovery and use of bioactive compounds, being potential inhibitors of the viral structural proteins. The present study aimed at the green synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with seed extracts of Nigella sativa and Pimpinella anisum-loaded nanostructured oil carriers (NLC)-using a mixture of olive and black seed essential oils. The synthesized ZnO NLC were extensively characterized. In addition, the constituent compounds in ZnO NLC were investigated as a potential inhibitor for the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro or Mpro) where 27 bioactive constituents, along with ZnO in the nanostructure, were subjected to molecular docking studies. The resultant high-score compounds were further validated by molecular dynamics simulation. The study optimized the compounds dithymoquinone, δ-hederin, oleuropein, and zinc oxide with high docking energy scores (ranging from -7.9 to -9.9 kcal/mol). The RMSD and RMSF data that ensued also mirrored these results for the stability of proteins and ligands. RMSD and RMSF data showed no conformational change in the protein during the MD simulation. Histograms of every simulation trajectory explained the ligand properties and ligand-protein contacts. Nevertheless, further experimental investigations and validation of the selected candidates are imperative to take forward the applicability of the nanostructure as a potent inhibitor of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) for clinical trials.

Natural Rubber (NR) Latex Films with Antimicrobial Properties for Stethoscope Diaphragm Covers

Systematic disinfection of the stethoscope diaphragm is required to ensure that it does not act as a vector for cross-transmission of health-related diseases. Thus, an antimicrobial latex film could be used as a cover to inhibit pathogenic bacteria from growing on its surface. The aim of this work is to determine the antimicrobial activity and mechanical properties of antimicrobial natural rubber (NR) latex films with different types of antimicrobial agents (mangosteen peel powder (MPP), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP), and povidone-iodine (PVP-I)). The antimicrobial loading was varied from 0.5, to 1.0, and 2.0 phr to monitor the effective inhibition of Gram-negative bacteria and fungi growth. For MPP and PVP-I antimicrobial agents, a loading of 2.0 phr showed good antimicrobial efficacy with the largest zone of inhibition. Simultaneously, ZnO NP demonstrated excellent antimicrobial activity at low concentrations. The addition of antimicrobial agents shows a comparable effect on the mechanical properties of NR latex films. In comparison to control NR latex film (29.41 MPa, 48.49 N/mm), antimicrobial-filled films have significantly greater tensile and tear strengths (MPP (33.84 MPa, 65.21 N/mm), ZnO NP (31.79 MPa, 52.77 N/mm), and PVP-I (33.25 MPa, 50.75 N/mm). In conclusion, the addition of antimicrobial agents, particularly ZnO NP, can be a better choice for NR latex films because they will serve as both an activator and an antimicrobial. In a clinical context, with regard to frequently used medical equipment such as a stethoscope, such an approach offers significant promise to aid infection control.

Prospects of NIR fluorescent nanosensors for green detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is continuously causing hazards for the world. Effective detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can relieve the impact, but various toxic chemicals are also released into the environment. Fluorescence sensors offer a facile analytical strategy. During fluorescence sensing, biological samples such as tissues and body fluids have autofluorescence, giving false-positive/negative results because of the interferences. Fluorescence near-infrared (NIR) nanosensors can be designed from low-toxic materials with insignificant background signals. Although this research is still in its infancy, further developments in this field have the potential for sustainable detection of SARS-CoV-2. Herein, we summarize the reported NIR fluorescent nanosensors with the potential to detect SARS-CoV-2. The green synthesis of NIR fluorescent nanomaterials, environmentally compatible sensing strategies, and possible methods to reduce the testing frequencies are discussed. Further optimization strategies for developing NIR fluorescent nanosensors to facilitate greener diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 for pandemic control are proposed.