Can Nanotechnology Help Combat Covid-19?
Published on : Thursday 23-04-2020
The Covid-19 pandemic poses a global pressure on modern societies, particularly on the global healthcare system. Since the virus began in December 2019, researchers and scientists are racing to learn and explore more about novel coronavirus. Nanotechnology brings new possibilities for developing reasonable and scalable detection methods, safe personal protection equipment and new effective medical solutions.
Nanosensors are already showing heightened ability to identify bacteria and viruses at very low concentrations and warning clinicians even before symptoms have shown or on patients with very low viral loads. Northeastern chemical engineer Thomas Webster, who specializes in developing nano-scale medicine and technology to treat diseases, is part of a contingency of scientists that are contributing ideas and technology to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to combat the iCovid-19 pandemic. Webster proposes particles of similar sizes that could attach to SARS-CoV-2 viruses, disrupting their structure with a combination of infrared light treatment.
On the other hand, researchers have been investigating the potential of using nanoparticles to treat bacterial and viral infections for years now. For instance, Gold nanoparticles are made to attach to viruses such as Ebola or influenza and by heating the particles with certain infrared wavelengths, the nanoparticles can then demolish the structure of the virus. Nanoparticles can also be used to deliver drugs as well.
Moreover, researchers are also exploring the use of nanotechnology; recently, a nano-filter has been developed that is claimed to maintain filtering efficiency, even after hand washing, with the use of nanofibers. This reusable nano-filtered facemask could assist in alleviating the challenges arising from the supply shortage of facemasks.
In order to ease the accelerating global burden by Covid-19, an international collaboration has created a nanotechnology approach to stop virus growth that could be used to treat novel coronavirus, as well as seasonal influenza and bird flu. The partnership includes researchers from the University of Manitoba, Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP), the Free University of Berlin (FU), the Humboldt University (HU), the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Charité university hospital in Berlin. The research from the collaboration led to the development of a chemically engineered nanoparticle, which covers flu viruses in a scaffold preventing them from infecting host cells.
Additionally, a US-based firm incorporates nanotechnology, blockchain for Covid-19 immunity passports. Quantum Materials Corp, the producer of quantum dot, recently announced its blockchain-based QDX HealthID for transparency in disease testing and immunization for infectious diseases. The QDX HealthID is designed to ensure the legitimacy of health data and help individuals to re-join the workforce quickly.
Considering these development trends, we believe nanotechnology could be effective in mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the coronavirus outbreak continues disrupting business operations around the world, the health system must find an effective cure very soon. And as more researchers explore innovative technologies, including nanotechnology, we could soon have preventative treatment for the pandemic.