Nanofibers in medicine

2022: Synthesis of Nanohybride Fibers

Rossiysko-Czech scientific the team synthesized biodegradable nano-hybrid fibers with silver and copper in the composition, which will become the basis of self-disinfectant filters for protection against covid and others viruses in public places. This was announced on February 21, 2022 by the university. MISIS

Despite numerous efforts to slow the spread of the virus, including vaccines, diagnostic technologies and developments in surveillance measures to track contact with covid-positive patients, the rapid increase in incidence has not slowed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the need for inexpensive materials that can effectively protect people from viruses transmitted by air or through surfaces. Since there is still no single solution to prevent the spread of viral infections, multistage personal protection mechanisms are needed to block or at least slow the rate of virus transmission.

To solve this problem, a group of scientists from NITU MISiS (Moscow), Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Lymphology and Research Institute of Virology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk) and Central European Technological Institute (Brno, Czech Republic ) developed a wide range of thin biodegradable nanofibers containing silver or copper.

Scientists at NITU MISIS are conducting research aimed at solving the most pressing problems facing humanity. Among them is the search for effective ways to combat the spread of coronavirus infection. One of the areas of work of the Inorganic Nanomaterials research laboratory, headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Dmitry Shtansky, is the creation of materials for biomedical purposes. The result of a study conducted by laboratory scientists was the synthesis of biodegradable antibacterial fibers with a silver or copper content, which can be used to protect against infection with viral infections, including COVID-19, "said Alevtina Chernikova, rector of NITU MISIS.

According to the developers, ultra-thin fibers obtained by electroforming can be used as active filter layers due to their physicochemical properties, namely, small weight, small pore size, high permeability, high specific surface area (from 1 to 100 m2/g depending on fiber diameter and porosity), good pore interconnection and the possibility of including active chemical particles at the nanolevel.

Production of one type of material involved deposition of titanium oxide followed by implantation of silver ions into polycaprolactone nanofibers. In another case, the coating of the nanofibers with a copper layer was successfully performed by magnetron sputtering. According to the results of the test, the antiviral activity estimated by the widely used method with culturing of VeroE6 cells was greatest for polycaprolactone-copper samples. Samples coated with titanium oxide with implanted silver did not show antiviral activity, "said Elizaveta Permyakova, co-author of the study, researcher at the Inorganic Nanomaterials Laboratory at NITU MISiS.

According to scientists, this difference in the effectiveness of nanofibre materials containing copper and silver may be associated with a different concentration of ions released from samples: 80 μg/l/day for Cu2 + versus 15 μg/l/day for Ag.

According to the developers, the high antiviral activity of nanofibers with copper opens up a good opportunity to prepare inexpensive self-disinfectant materials for protection against covid. They can be used in air filtration and for the production of face masks that do not require washing and disinfection.

A rough estimate of the cost structure for the production of polycaprolactone-copper nanofilament masks showed that the manufacture of one face mask would cost 0.28. United States dollar

Scientific work was carried out as part of the project of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (No. 20-52-26020).

See also

• Nanoparticles in Medicine
• Boron nitride nano films

• Nanosprings
• Nanolattices
• Nanotubes