Zinc-Embedded Polyamide Fabrics Inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A Virus

Vikram Gopal*, Benjamin E. Nilsson-Payant, Hollie French, Jurre Y. Siegers, Wai Shing Yung, Matthew Hardwick, Aartjan J.W. Te Velthuis

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)
38 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Influenza A viruses (IAV) and SARS-CoV-2 can spread via liquid droplets and aerosols. Face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) can act as barriers that prevent the spread of these viruses. However, IAV and SARS-CoV-2 are stable for hours on various materials, which makes frequent and correct disposal of these PPE important. Metal ions embedded into PPE may inactivate respiratory viruses, but confounding factors such as adsorption of viruses make measuring and optimizing the inactivation characteristics difficult. Here, we used polyamide 6.6 (PA66) fibers containing embedded zinc ions and systematically investigated if these fibers can adsorb and inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and IAV H1N1 when woven into a fabric. We found that our PA66-based fabric decreased the IAV H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2 titer by approximately 100-fold. Moreover, we found that the zinc content and the virus inactivating property of the fabric remained stable over 50 standardized washes. Overall, these results provide insights into the development of reusable PPE that offer protection against RNA virus spread.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)30317-30325
Number of pages9
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume13
Issue number26
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Jun 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was funded in part by Ascend Performance Materials. AtV is supported by joint Wellcome Trust and Royal Society grant 206579/Z/17/Z.

Funding Information:
The authors declare the following competing financial interest(s): This study was funded in part by Ascend Performance Materials. VG and W-sY are employed by Ascend Performance Materials. MH is employed by ResInnova and hired by Ascend Performance Materials to perform experiments and analyze data. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and University of Cambridge received consultancy fees from Ascend Performance Materials for experimental work and data analysis. Acknowledgments

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

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