• Khan, Saif Ullah
• Riaz, Shagufta
• Hassan, Tufail
• Khan, Amina
• Salam, Abdul
• Shah, Muhammad Raza
• Muhammad Iqbal, Kanwal
• Soo, Kim Ick
• Khan, Muhammad Qamar
• Wasim, Muhammad
• Jabri, Tooba

Abstract

<jats:p>Designing novel antiviral personal protective equipment (PPE) is crucial for preventing viral infections such as COVID-19 in humans. Here, we fabricate an electrospun nanofiber-based Viroblock (VB)-loaded polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/zinc oxide (ZnO) hybrid nanocomposite for PPE applications. Five different concentrations of Viroblock (0.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%, 3.5%, and 5%) were added to PAN/ZnO solution and loaded for electrospinning. The developed samples reflected antibacterial activity of 92.59% and 88.64% against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, respectively, with 5% VB loading. Moreover, a significant reduction in virus titer (37%) was observed with the 5% VB/PAN/ZnO nanofiber sheet. Hence, VB-loaded PAN/ZnO nanofibers have great potential to kill enveloped viruses such as influenzas and coronaviruses and could be the ideal candidate for the development of nanofiber-based PPE, such as facemasks and surgical gowns, which can play a key role in the protection of frontline health workers and the general public in the COVID-19 pandemic.</jats:p>

Topics

• nanocomposite
• impedance spectroscopy
• zinc
• electrospinning