PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers demonstrate self-sterilizing polymers work against SARS-CoV-2

2021-02-16
(Press-News.org) Researchers from North Carolina State University, Boston University and Kraton Corporation have demonstrated a family of self-sterilizing polymers that are effective at inactivating coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes COVID-19. The work opens the door to a suite of applications that could help to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and other diseases.

"Our work here provides conclusive evidence that these materials, anionic polymers, can inactivate human coronaviruses quickly and efficiently," says Richard Spontak, co-author of a paper on the work accepted for publication in Advanced Science. Spontak is a Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a professor of materials science and engineering at North Carolina State University.

"If we want to coat high-contact surfaces such as textiles, countertops or walls - it's possible," says Frank Scholle, co-author of the paper and an associate professor of biological sciences at NC State. "Virus inactivation will occur as long as there is sufficient humidity," adds Scholle, who is also director of NC State's Center for Advanced Virus Experimentation (CAVE).

When these anionic polymers absorb water, protons can travel through nanoscale channels to the surface, creating a highly acidic environment capable of inactivating viruses and killing bacteria and mold. The research team had previously demonstrated that several of the anionic polymers were effective against a range of pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and a strain of influenza.

"Based on what we've learned, we've been able to identify a fundamentally new inactivation mechanism and a family of polymers that expands the health care sector's arsenal for fighting the spread of coronavirus," Spontak says.

In laboratory experiments, the researchers demonstrated that specific anionic polymers could fully inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in just 5 minutes, and fully inactivate a human coronavirus surrogate called HCoV-229E in 20 minutes.

Kraton Corporation is in the process of evaluating applications for how some of these polymers might be used in a variety of settings.

"We are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with NC State University and Boston University to address an important and urgent need for long-lasting antimicrobial performance," says Vijay Mhetar, Kraton's Chief Technology Officer. "Building upon this scientific discovery, Kraton Corporation is actively seeking regulatory approvals and evaluating application uses in transportation, health care, and building and infrastructure."

INFORMATION:

The paper, "Rapid and Repetitive Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and Human Coronavirus on Self-Disinfecting Anionic Polymers," was published online Feb. 9. Co-first authors of the paper are Bharadwaja Peddinti, a former Ph.D. student at NC State, and Sierra Downs of Boston University. The paper was co-authored by Jiaqi Yan, a Ph.D. student at NC State; Reza Ghiladi, an associate professor of chemistry at NC State and member of CAVE; Anthony Griffiths, an associate professor of microbiology and member of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories at Boston University; Steven Smith of The Procter & Gamble Company; and Vijay Mhetar and Roger Tocchetto of Kraton Corporation.

The work was performed with support from NC State's Nonwovens Institute and Comparative Medicine Institute; Halyard Health; Kraton Corporation; and Boston University.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scientists developed a novel method of automatic soil mapping

Scientists developed a novel method of automatic soil mapping
2021-02-16
A team of soil scientists developed a new approach to the automatic generation and updating of soil maps. Having applied machine learning technologies to a set of rules traditionally used by experts in manual mapping, the team obtained a highly accurate model that provides easy-to-interpret results. The study was published in ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. Many software solutions for digital soil mapping are based on statistical models. The accuracy of such programs is limited because statistical models depend on the quality and quantity of field data and can ignore local irregularities in soil properties. It is difficult to obtain accurate and useful information from ...

Moffitt uses mathematical modeling to identify factors that determine adaptive therapy success

2021-02-16
TAMPA, Fla. - One of the most challenging issues in cancer therapy is the development of drug resistance and subsequent disease progression. In a new article featured on this month's cover of Cancer Research, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with Oxford University, report results from their study using mathematical modeling to show that cell turnover impacts drug resistance and is an important factor that governs the success of adaptive therapy. Cancer treatment options have increased substantially over the past few decades; however, many patients eventually develop drug resistance. Physicians strive to overcome resistance by either trying to target cancer cells through an alternative approach or targeting the resistance mechanism itself, but success with ...

Oncotarget: Targeting engineered cytokine with interleukin to the neovasculature of tumors

Oncotarget: Targeting engineered cytokine with interleukin to the neovasculature of tumors
2021-02-16
Oncotarget recently published "Targeting an engineered cytokine with interleukin-2 and interleukin-15 activity to the neovasculature of solid tumors" by Mortensen, et al. which reported that there is a growing interest in the antibody-based delivery of cytokines to the tumor environment as a means to boost the anti-cancer activity of tumor-resident T cells and NK cells. Here, the authors described the expression and characterization of fusion proteins, featuring the L19 antibody and an engineered cytokine with interleukin-2 and interleukin-15 ...

Oncotarget: AKT isoforms have discrete expression in triple negative breast cancers

Oncotarget: AKT isoforms have discrete expression in triple negative breast cancers
2021-02-16
Oncotarget recently published "AKT isoforms have discrete expression in triple negative breast cancers and roles in cisplatin sensitivity" which reported that the authors investigated the expression and net effect of the individual isoforms in triple negative breast cancers and response to cisplatin treatment using cellular, mice models and clinical samples. Interestingly, analysis of the expressions of AKT isoforms in clinical samples showed relatively higher expression of AKT1 in primary tissues; whereas lung and liver metastatic samples showed elevated ...

Regular caffeine consumption affects brain structure

2021-02-16
Coffee, cola or an energy drink: caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance. Researchers from the University of Basel have now shown in a study that regular caffeine intake can change the gray matter of the brain. However, the effect appears to be temporary. No question - caffeine helps most of us to feel more alert. However, it can disrupt our sleep if consumed in the evening. Sleep deprivation can in turn affect the gray matter of the brain, as previous studies have shown. So can regular caffeine consumption affect brain structure due to poor sleep? A research team led by Dr. Carolin Reichert and Professor Christian Cajochen of the University of Basel ...

Oncotarget: Cancer stem cells and macrophages against cancer

Oncotarget: Cancer stem cells and macrophages against cancer
2021-02-16
Here is a link to watch a video interview with Dr. Beatrice Aramini about this topic on the Oncotarget YouTube Channel Oncotarget published "Cancer stem cells and macrophages: molecular connections and future perspectives against cancer" which reported that Cancer stem cells have been considered the key drivers of cancer initiation and progression due to their unlimited self-renewal capacity and their ability to induce tumor formation. Macrophages, particularly tumor-associated macrophages, establish a tumor microenvironment to protect and induce CSCs development and dissemination. Many studies in the past decade have been performed to understand the molecular ...

Kagome graphene promises exciting properties

2021-02-16
For the first time, physicists from the University of Basel have produced a graphene compound consisting of carbon atoms and a small number of nitrogen atoms in a regular grid of hexagons and triangles. This honeycomb-structured "kagome lattice" behaves as a semiconductor and may also have unusual electrical properties. In the future, it could potentially be used in electronic sensors or quantum computers. Researchers around the world are searching for new synthetic materials with special properties such as superconductivity -- that is, the conduction of electric current without resistance. These new substances are an important step in the development ...

Shrubs and soils: A hot topic in the cool tundra

Shrubs and soils: A hot topic in the cool tundra
2021-02-16
Climate change is rapid in the Arctic. As the climate warms, shrubs expand towards higher latitudes and altitudes. Researcher Julia Kemppinen together with her colleagues investigated the impacts of dwarf shrubs on tundra soils in the sub-Arctic Fennoscandia. The study revealed that the dominance of dwarf shrubs impacts soil microclimate and carbon stocks. Microclimate describes the moisture and temperature conditions close to ground surface. Shrubs are the largest plant life form in the Arctic, and in comparison, to other arctic plants, shrubs use more water and cast more shade. "The results indicate ...

Answer quickly to be believed

2021-02-16
WASHINGTON -- When people pause before replying to a question, even for just a few seconds, their answers are perceived to be less sincere and credible than if they had replied immediately, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. And the longer the hesitation, the less sincere the response appears. "Evaluating other people's sincerity is a ubiquitous and important part of social interactions," said lead author Ignazio Ziano, PhD, of Grenoble Ecole de Management. "Our research shows that response speed is an important cue on which people base their sincerity inferences." The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Researchers ...

Photosynthetic bacteria-based cancer optotheranostics

Photosynthetic bacteria-based cancer optotheranostics
2021-02-16
Cancer is one of the most thought-provoking healthcare problems throughout the world. The development of therapeutic agents with highly selective anti-cancer activities is increasingly attractive due to the lack of tumor selectivity of conventional treatments. Scientists at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) have created a photosynthetic bacteria-based cancer optotheranostics (Figure 1). Discovered by Associate Professor Eijiro Miyako and his team from JAIST, natural purple photosynthetic bacteria (PPSB) can play a key role as a highly active cancer immunotheranostics agent that uses the bio-optical-window I and II near-infrared (NIR) light thanks to the light harvesting nanocomplexes in microbial ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

Mission accomplished for the “T2T” Hong Kong Bauhinia Genome Project

Study identifies how malaria can lead to childhood cancer

An earth-abundant mineral for sustainable spintronics

[Press-News.org] Researchers demonstrate self-sterilizing polymers work against SARS-CoV-2