Trace of a novel coronavirus pandemic that has spread from China
German and American scientists have proposed a new approach to fight viruses, Nature Materials reports.
Experts have created nanopits, made of DNA, capable of mechanically trapping and absorbing viruses. According to the study authors, this method will also work against a new type of coronavirus.
Scientists have developed a method to create self-assembled objects the size of a virus. They suggested that if such nanobodies were hollow and coated inside with virus-binding molecules, then they could be used as virus traps.
The specialists decided to build hollow bodies from three-dimensional plates, by recovering an object composed of twenty triangular surfaces. By changing the anchor points on the edges of the plates, scientists were able to create not only closed hollow spheres, but also spheres with holes, which are particularly convenient to use as traps.
According to the study leader, Professor Hendrik Dietz, the new method has already been tested in the TUM Institute of Virology and the Helmholtz Center in Munich against hepatitis B and adenoviruses. The results showed that viruses in cell cultures are blocked quite reliably.
“ If we put five virus binding sites inside, for example appropriate antibodies, we can already block the virus by 80%. If we activate more sites, we will get a complete block, ”said the professor.
In the next steps of the study, the scientists plan to test their development first on mice and then on humans.
Previously, it was reported that Russian scientists from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology had developed a & nbsp; nanomembrane capable of killing microorganisms and viruses, including COVID-19. The invention is intended for use in filters of air purifiers and in air conditioners.