In vitro anti-foot-and-mouth disease virus activity of magnesium oxide nanoparticles

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an extremely contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that can lead to huge economic losses in the livestock production. No antiviral therapies are available for treating FMD virus (FMDV) infections in animals. The antiviral effects of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) on the FMDV were investigated in cell culture. The viability of the cells after MgO NP treatment was determined using the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. The direct effects of MgO NPs on the FMDV in extracellular (virucidal assay) and also different stages of virus replication (antiviral assay) were evaluated by plaque reduction assay. The results showed that MgO NPs were safe at concentrations up to 250 µg/ml in the Razi Bovine kidney cell line. The treatments with NPs indicated that the MgO NPs exerted in vitro virucidal and antiviral activities. Plaque reduction assay revealed that MgO NPs can inhibit FMDV by more than 90% at the early stages of infection such as attachment and penetration but not after penetration. The results of this study suggested that NPs might be applied locally as an antiviral agent in early stages of infection in susceptible animals.