Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 by electrochemical oxidation

Yunchuan Tu; Wei Tang; Liang Yu; Zheyi Liu; Yanting Liu; Huicong Xia; Haiwei Zhang; Shiyun Chen; Jia Wu; Xiaoju Cui; Jianan Zhang; Fangjun Wang; Yangbo Hu; Dehui Deng

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2020.12.025

Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 by electrochemical oxidation

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2021 Apr 15;66(7):720-726. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2020.12.025. Epub 2020 Dec 30.

Authors

Yunchuan Tu^{1

2}, Wei Tang³, Liang Yu^{1

2}, Zheyi Liu^{4

2}, Yanting Liu^{1

2}, Huicong Xia⁵, Haiwei Zhang³, Shiyun Chen³, Jia Wu⁶, Xiaoju Cui^{1

2}, Jianan Zhang⁵, Fangjun Wang^{4

2}, Yangbo Hu³, Dehui Deng^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, China.
⁵ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
⁶ Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.

Abstract

Fully inactivating SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019, is of key importance for interrupting virus transmission but is currently performed by using biologically or environmentally hazardous disinfectants. Herein, we report an eco-friendly and efficient electrochemical strategy for inactivating the SARS-CoV-2 using in-situ formed nickel oxide hydroxide as anode catalyst and sodium carbonate as electrolyte. At a voltage of 5 V, the SARS-CoV-2 viruses can be rapidly inactivated with disinfection efficiency reaching 95% in only 30 s and 99.99% in 5 min. Mass spectrometry analysis and theoretical calculations indicate that the reactive oxygen species generated on the anode can oxidize the peptide chains and induce cleavage of the peptide backbone of the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, and thereby disables the virus. This strategy provides a sustainable and highly efficient approach for the disinfection of the SARS-CoV-2 viruliferous aerosols and wastewater.

Keywords: Electrochemical oxidation; Reactive oxygen species; Receptor binding domain; SARS-CoV-2.