RAPID: Conformal, Anti-viral Nanofilms on Personal Protective equipmenT materials to combat CoronavirUs tRansmission/sequEstration (CAPTURE)

在当前COVID 19大流行的情况下，使用个人防护设备（如医用长袍、手套、口罩等）作为预防感染的主要防线。病原体的传播直接发生在人与人之间，以及通过地表与地表的交叉污染。目前形式的个人防护设备仅通过充当物理屏障来为用户提供免受感染的保护。将病毒结合聚合物和抗病毒纳米材料与当前形式的个人防护设备结合，可以“捕获”和“杀死”病毒物种：保护医务人员/第一反应人员，并随后防止传染病的传播，如新型冠状病毒。这个快速的建议，在化学，生物工程，环境和运输系统部门的纳米级相互作用计划的支持下，探讨了病毒种类和医学相关的纳米材料之间的纳米级相互作用。该项目将利用嵌入局部紫外光发射纳米颗粒的生物相容性聚合物纳米层作为未来设计基于纳米材料的抗病毒涂层的模型系统。这项研究的结果将证明这种纳米材料平台对灭活有害病毒病原体的有效性，并阐明病毒-生物医学材料相互作用。这些宝贵的信息将分发给公众，以便更好地设计更好和更有效的个人防护设备，以遏制冠状病毒和其他病原体。病毒病原体对人类构成重大威胁。COVID-19大流行是这一威胁的典型代表，对全球社会结构和经济产生了重大的破坏性影响。目前形式的个人防护设备仅作为感染/病毒传播的物理屏障（例如，医院长袍、医用口罩、手套等）。理想的个人防护设备应该在接触时直接抑制病毒：从而确保用户免受感染，并防止通过表面与表面接触的交叉污染。在这个RAPID项目中，我们提出了一个多层，生物相容性纳米聚合物涂层的个人防护设备表面的设计。这些层将进一步用复合氧化物纳米颗粒接种，其吸收白色/自然光并释放局部UV光以吸收吸附的病毒剂。此外，涂层中的特定聚合物将用病毒表面蛋白结合寡聚分子进行化学修饰。研究这种相互作用的优点是双重的：（1）表面蛋白质被阻止与宿主细胞相互作用（防止感染），（2）病毒种类被保留在个人防护设备表面，允许纳米颗粒介导的UV光的足够剂量。抗病毒纳米颗粒和病毒选择性低聚物的组合将作为未来基于纳米材料的产品的模型，实现“捕获”和“杀死”方法。具体而言，工程和生物医学科学之间的跨学科研究将突出纳米级结合相互作用（寡聚体蛋白质，聚合物病毒膜）和纳米发射体在抗病毒平台中的功效。收集的数据将教育和告知公众各种相关的主题，包括对各种受众的宣传。该模型的设计是高度推广到其他病毒类型和纳米材料与不同的化学，光学或生物学模式的行动。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

In the current state of pandemic COVID 19, use of personal protective equipment e.g. medical gowns, gloves, facemasks, etc.) stand as the primary line of defense for preventing infection. Communication of the pathogen occurs directly, from person to person, as well as through cross-contamination from surface to surface. Current forms of personal protective equipment only provide user protection from infection by functioning as a physical barrier. Incorporation of virus-binding polymers and anti-viral nanomaterials with current forms of personal protective equipment can allow the ‘capture’ and ‘killing’ of virus species: protecting medical personnel/first responders and subsequently preventing the spread of contagions, such as the novel coronavirus. This RAPID proposal, supported by the nanoscale interaction program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, explores the nano-scale interactions between virus species and medically relevant nanomaterials. The project will utilize bio-compatible polymer nanolayers embedded with local UV light emitting nanoparticles as a model system for the future design of nanomaterial-based anti-viral coatings. Results from this study will demonstrate the efficacy of such nanomaterial platforms towards inactivating harmful viral pathogens as well as elucidate virus-biomedical material interactions. Such valuable information will be disseminated to the public for better design of improved and more effective personal protective equipment in the containment of coronavirus and other pathogens. Viral pathogens pose a significant threat to humanity. The COVID-19 pandemic typifies this threat with substantial, crippling impact on the global social structures and economics already felt. Current forms of personal protective equipment function solely as physical barriers to infection/viral transmission (e.g. hospital gowns, medical face masks, gloves, etc.). Ideal personal protective equipment should directly inactivate the virus, upon contact: thereby assuring against user infection as well as preventing cross-contamination through surface to surface contact. In this RAPID project, we propose the design of a multi-layer, bio-compatible nano-polymer coating on personal protective equipment surfaces. These layers will further be seeded with complex oxide nanoparticles which absorb white/natural light and release local UV light to inactivate adsorbed virus agents. Additionally, specific polymers in the coating will be chemically modified with virus surface protein binding oligomeric molecules. The advantage of studying such interaction is twofold: (1) surface proteins are blocked from interacting with host cells (preventing infection) and (2) virus species are retained at the personal protective equipment surface allowing sufficient dosing of nanoparticle-mediated UV light. The combination of anti-viral nanoparticles and virus-selective oligomers will function as a model for future, nanomaterial-based, products effecting a ‘capture’ and ‘kill’ approach. Specifically, this interdisciplinary study between engineering and biomedical sciences will highlight nanoscale binding interactions (oligomer-protein, polymer-virus membrane) and the efficacy of nano-emitters in anti-viral platforms. The data collected will educate and inform the general public on diverse, relevant subjects; including outreach to various audiences. The model is designed to be highly generalizable to other virus types and for incorporation of nanomaterials with varying chemical, optical, or biological modes of action.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.