Future antiviral polymers by plasma processing

• Published in: Progress in polymer science Vol. 118; p. 101410
• Main Authors: Ma, Chuanlong, Nikiforov, Anton, De Geyter, Nathalie, Dai, Xiaofeng, Morent, Rino, Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 01-07-2021; The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V
• Subjects: Antiviral polymers; plasma processing; surface modification; PP; NO; PS; PPE; RV; surface modification; plasma processing; MERS-CoV; COVID-19; BSA; SARS-CoV-2; Δf; PFM; RT-PCR; PECVD; HBV; Antiviral polymers; HMDSO; UV; RONS; PTFE; MW; H2; IPNpp; CF4; ΔD; ACE2; TEOS-O2; REF; PC; PEG; WCA; RSV; RF; SEM; PVC; PET; DC; PDMS; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HMDSO, hexamethyldisiloxane; REF, reference; PDMS, polydimethylsiloxane; H2, hydrogen; UV, ultraviolet; IPNpp, plasma polymerized isopentyl nitrite; PP, polypropylene; DC, direct current; PEG, polyethene glycol; PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene; RV, rhinovirus; NO, nitric oxide; RF, radio frequency; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; PFM, pentafluorophenyl methacrylate; ΔD, the variation of the dissipation; PECVD, plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition; PPE, personal protective equipment; PS, polystyrene; BSA, bovine serum albumin; WCA, water contact angle; RONS, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species; PC, polycarbonate; CF4, tetrafluoromethane; MERS-CoV, middle east respiratory syndrome; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; TEOS-O2, tetraethyl orthosilicate and oxygen; MW, microwave; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; PVC, polyvinyl chloride; PET, polyethene terephthalate; ACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; Δf, the frequency shift; RSV, respiratory syncytial virus; RT-PCR, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
• ISSN: 0079-6700; 1873-1619
• DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2021.101410

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is largely threatening global public health, social stability, and economy. Efforts of the scientific community are turning to this global crisis and should present future preventative measures. With recent trends in polymer science that use plasma to activate and enhance the functionalities of polymer surfaces by surface etching, surface grafting, coating and activation combined with recent advances in understanding polymer-virus interactions at the nanoscale, it is promising to employ advanced plasma processing for smart antiviral applications. This trend article highlights the innovative and emerging directions and approaches in plasma-based surface engineering to create antiviral polymers. After introducing the unique features of plasma processing of polymers, novel plasma strategies that can be applied to engineer polymers with antiviral properties are presented and critically evaluated. The challenges and future perspectives of exploiting the unique plasma-specific effects to engineer smart polymers with virus-capture, virus-detection, virus-repelling, and/or virus-inactivation functionalities for biomedical applications are analysed and discussed.
[Display omitted]