ABSTRACT
T Sen is a Reader in Nanomaterials Chemistry at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). He trained as a chemist, achieving his BSc Hons in Chemistry, MSc in Physical Chemistry and PhD in Materials Chemistry from the National Chemical Laboratory (Pune, India). Alongside his academic posting, he is an editorial board member for several journals including Nanomedicine. His work at UCLan is multidisciplinary, drawing from chemistry, material science, biology and medicine to work with industry and academic partners to address challenges in health and environmental sciences. The research group currently has three projects: magneto-optical nanocomposites for liver cancer therapeutics; the separation and identification of viral RNAs using magnetic nanoparticles in the context of coronavirus and developing multifunctional nanocomposites for the detection and separation of wastewater toxicity and treatment.
Subject(s)
Magnetite Nanoparticles , Male , Humans , Magnetite Nanoparticles/therapeutic use , India , NanomedicineABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2's (SARS-CoV-2) rapid global spread has posed a significant threat to human health, and similar outbreaks could occur in the future. Developing effective virus inactivation technologies is critical to preventing and overcoming pandemics. The infection of SARS-CoV-2 depends on the binding of the spike glycoprotein (S) receptor binding domain (RBD) to the host cellular surface receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). If this interaction is disrupted, SARS-CoV-2 infection could be inhibited. Magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) dispersions exposed to an alternating magnetic field (AMF) possess the unique ability for magnetically mediated energy delivery (MagMED); this localized energy delivery and associated mechanical, chemical, and thermal effects are a possible technique for inactivating viruses. This study investigates the MNPs' effect on vesicular stomatitis virus pseudoparticles containing the SARS-CoV-2 S protein when exposed to AMF or a water bath (WB) with varying target steady-state temperatures (45, 50, and 55 °C) for different exposure times (5, 15, and 30 min). In comparison to WB exposures at the same temperatures, AMF exposures resulted in significantly greater inactivation in multiple cases. This is likely due to AMF-induced localized heating and rotation of MNPs. In brief, our findings demonstrate a potential strategy for combating the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic or future ones.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Magnetite Nanoparticles , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Magnetite Nanoparticles/therapeutic use , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/chemistry , Magnetic FieldsABSTRACT
High-quality point-of-care is critical for timely decision of disease diagnosis and healthcare management. In this regard, biosensors have revolutionized the field of rapid testing and screening, however, are confounded by several technical challenges including material cost, half-life, stability, site-specific targeting, analytes specificity, and detection sensitivity that affect the overall diagnostic potential and therapeutic profile. Despite their advances in point-of-care testing, very few classical biosensors have proven effective and commercially viable in situations of healthcare emergency including the recent COVID-19 pandemic. To overcome these challenges functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have emerged as key players in advancing the biomedical and healthcare sector with promising applications during the ongoing healthcare crises. This critical review focus on understanding recent developments in theranostic applications of functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Given the profound global economic and health burden, we discuss the therapeutic impact of functionalized MNPs in acute and chronic diseases like small RNA therapeutics, vascular diseases, neurological disorders, and cancer, as well as for COVID-19 testing. Lastly, we culminate with a futuristic perspective on the scope of this field and provide an insight into the emerging opportunities whose impact is anticipated to disrupt the healthcare industry.