Biomolecular interactions with nanoparticles: applications for coronavirus disease 2019

Mohammed A H Farouq; Mohammed M Al Qaraghuli; Karina Kubiak-Ossowska; Valerie A Ferro; Paul A Mulheran

doi:10.1016/j.cocis.2021.101461

Biomolecular interactions with nanoparticles: applications for coronavirus disease 2019

Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci. 2021 Aug:54:101461. doi: 10.1016/j.cocis.2021.101461. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Authors

Mohammed A H Farouq¹, Mohammed M Al Qaraghuli¹, Karina Kubiak-Ossowska², Valerie A Ferro³, Paul A Mulheran¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 75 Montrose Street, Glasgow, G1 1XJ, UK.
² Department of Physics/Archie-West HPC, University of Strathclyde, 107 Rottenrow East, Glasgow, G4 0NG, UK.
³ Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RE, UK.

Abstract

Nanoparticles are small particles sized 1-100 nm, which have a large surface-to-volume ratio, allowing efficient adsorption of drugs, proteins, and other chemical compounds. Consequently, functionalized nanoparticles have potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications. A variety of nanoparticles have been studied, including those constructed from inorganic materials, biopolymers, and lipids. In this review, we focus on recent work targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Understanding the interactions between coronavirus-specific proteins (such as the spike protein and its host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) with different nanoparticles paves the way to the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics that are urgently needed for the fight against COVID-19, and indeed for related future viral threats that may emerge.

Keywords: COVID-19; Diagnostics; Nanoparticles; Proteins; SARS-CoV-2; Therapeutics.

Publication types

Review