Toward Nanotechnology-Enabled Approaches against the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has fueled a global demand for effective diagnosis and treatment as well as mitigation of the spread of infection, all through large-scale approaches such as specific alternative antiviral methods and classical disinfection protocols. Based on an abundance of engineered materials identifiable by their useful physicochemical properties through versatile chemical functionalization, nanotechnology offers a number of approaches to cope with this emergency. Here, through a multidisciplinary Perspective encompassing diverse fields such as virology, biology, medicine, engineering, chemistry, materials science, and computational science, we outline how nanotechnology-based strategies can support the fight against COVID-19, as well as infectious diseases in general, including future pandemics. Considering what we know so far about the life cycle of the virus, we envision key steps where nanotechnology could counter the disease. First, nanoparticles (NPs) can offer alternative methods to classical disinfection protocols used in healthcare settings, thanks to their intrinsic antipathogenic properties and/or their ability to inactivate viruses, bacteria, fungi, or yeasts either photothermally or via photocatalysis-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Nanotechnology tools to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in patients could also be explored. In this case, nanomaterials could be used to deliver drugs to the pulmonary system to inhibit interaction between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors and viral S protein. Moreover, the concept of "nanoimmunity by design" can help us to design materials for immune modulation, either stimulating or suppressing the immune response, which would find applications in the context of vaccine development for SARS-CoV-2 or in counteracting the cytokine storm, respectively. In addition to disease prevention and therapeutic potential, nanotechnology has important roles in diagnostics, with potential to support the development of simple, fast, and cost-effective nanotechnology-based assays to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and related biomarkers. In summary, nanotechnology is critical in counteracting COVID-19 and will be vital when preparing for future pandemics. ; L.G.D. acknowledges the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 734381 (CARBOimmap), and the University of Padua (Italy) DOR-2020. A.Y. is thankful to the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) for financial support under the young investigator programme. A.M. thanks funding by the CERCA programme/Generalitat de Catalunya and the Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence programme and by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI, Grant No. SEV-2017-0706) given to ICN2. C.M. would like to acknowledge the award of funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 819069) and the award of a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (UF160539) by the UK Royal Society. Y.G. was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-1740795. M.C. acknowledges the Labex SERENADE funded by the "Investissements d'Avenir" French Government program of the French National Research Agency (Grant No. ANR-11-LABX-0064) through the A*MIDEX project (Grant No. ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02). ; Peer reviewed