Ceramic Materials Against Covid-19

Iseli Lourenço Nantes
Universidade Federal do ABC

Abstract

The development of self-disinfectant devices is highly needed to prevent and control infections, mainly caused by virus. In the past years, coronaviruses have been a threat to humanity, causing severe epidemics of respiratory infections such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), in 2003, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012, and presently the COVID-19 pandemic continues to promote deaths. The appearance of SARS CoV2 mutants bring new challenges for the control of the Pandemics. Previous studies have demonstrated that surface contamination play a significant role in the spreading of viruses. Particularly, the variant Omicron has demonstrated to remain viable on surfaces for longer times. The production of highly reactive species by nanostructured materials such as semiconductors Co₃O₄ CuO, NiO, and TiO2, and silver nanoparticles can decrease the virus viability on the surfaces when associated with polymers and textiles, especially in conditions of light exposure. The modification of clothes, masks, gloves with these materials is promising for inactivation of viruses due to its capacity of destroying the viral envelope and capsid. The virucidal property of these materials can be enhanced by increasing their functionalization with photosensitizers. The use of ceramic nanostructures brings subsidies for the development of new advanced self-disinfectant materials that can be used in the manufacture of gloves, masks, and a variety of other devices.