Liquid repellency enabled antipathogen coatings

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Infectious Disease Control
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, a respiratory virus spread via droplets.
• Emerging immune-evasive variants and limited antiviral efficacy necessitate alternative control strategies beyond vaccines and therapeutics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of liquid-repellent coatings in preventing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
• To explore the mechanism by which these coatings minimize pathogen attachment and deposition.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing SARS-CoV-2 as a model pathogen to test super-liquid-repellent surfaces.
• Quantifying viral remnants on coated versus uncoated surfaces.
• Analyzing the relationship between liquid/solid adhesion and pathogen attachment.

Main Results:

• SARS-CoV-2 remnants were reduced by seven orders of magnitude on coated surfaces, significantly outperforming disinfectants.
• Viral remnant scaling was found to be exponential with liquid/solid adhesion, revealing the underlying mechanism.
• A dual-action antipathogen coating combining liquid repellency and inactivation properties was successfully demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• Liquid-repellent coatings offer a potent strategy for infection control, particularly in the absence of effective vaccines or therapeutics.
• The developed antipathogen coating is versatile, applicable to various substrates and pathogens, and valuable for everyday infection prevention.
• Understanding and controlling liquid-solid adhesion is key to minimizing pathogen attachment and transmission.