RAPID: Lattice-Defective Copper Oxides as a Biocidal Tool for COVID-19 and Beyond

非技术描述：2020年新冠肺炎大流行引起了人们对该病毒如何在人群中传播以及如何使其失活的极大兴趣。为了保护公众健康和福利，迫切需要具有抗致病“接触致死”能力的新型表面处理方法。为此，氧化亚铜被报道为一种高效的抗菌化合物；虽然其抗菌性能的来源尚不清楚，但它被假设为其晶格中原子级铜空位的结果，这些空位提供了高电荷的原子环境。这些晶格中的局部高能区域被认为破坏和破坏了细胞膜和/或病毒的蛋白质外壳。跨学科研究量化氧化亚铜晶格状态和其杀生活性之间的联系，以允许对这种丰富、廉价和易于处理的材料进行合理设计，以并入公共场所的涂料。技术细节：通过结构和电子探针，包括磁测量和光吸收，量化氧化亚铜晶格缺陷状态与其对典型生物的抗致病反应之间的相关性。通过高能机械处理合成的晶格缺陷氧化亚铜被纳入涂层，并接受生物检测，以量化长期暴露后活细菌和病毒的任何减少。参与这一项目的学生和初级研究人员在无机材料科学和生物学这两门通常不太常见的交叉学科工作。这些测试旨在模拟病原体可能在给定表面生存的实际条件，提供使能的知识来设计氧化亚铜，也许还有其他氧化物材料，用于抗病原学目的，以应对当前的新冠肺炎大流行和主动应对未来的健康挑战。该奖项由CARE法案补充资金提供，分配给MPS。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has generated tremendous interest in how the virus spreads throughout populations as well as how it is deactivated. New types of surface treatments that exhibit antipathogenic “contact-kill” capabilities are urgently sought to protect public health and welfare. To this end, cuprous oxide is reported as a highly effective antimicrobial compound; while the origin of its antimicrobial property remains unknown, it is hypothesized to be a consequence of atomic-level copper vacancies in its crystal lattice that provide highly charged atomic environments. These locally energetic regions in the lattice are thought to disrupt and destroy cell membranes and/or the protein shell of viruses. Interdisciplinary research quantifies connections between the cuprous oxide lattice condition and its biocidal activity to permit rational engineering of this abundant, inexpensive and easily handled material for incorporation into coatings for public spaces.TECHNICAL DETAILS: Correlations between the cuprous oxide lattice defect condition and its antipathogenic response to representative organisms are quantified through structural and electronic probes, including magnetometry and photoabsorption. Lattice-defective cuprous oxide, synthesized by high-energy mechanical processing, is incorporated into coatings and subjected to biological assays to quantify any reduction in viable bacteria and viruses after prolonged exposure. Students and junior researchers involved in this project work at the typically unfrequented intersection of inorganic materials science and biology. These tests, which are designed to simulate actual conditions where a pathogen might survive on a given surface, provide enabling knowledge to engineer cuprous oxide, and perhaps other oxide materials, for antipathogenic purposes to address the current COVID-19 pandemic and to proactively confront future health challenges.This award is being funded by the CARES Act supplemental funds allocated to MPS.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.