A UCF alum and several researchers used nanotechnology to develop this cleaning agent, which can resist seven viruses for up to 7 days.
UCF researchers have developed a nanoparticle-based disinfectant that can continuously kill viruses on the surface for up to 7 days-this discovery may become a powerful weapon against COVID-19 and other emerging pathogenic viruses.
The research was published this week in the journal ACS Nano of the American Chemical Society by a multidisciplinary team of virus and engineering experts from the university and the head of a technology company in Orlando.
Christina Drake ’07PhD, the founder of Kismet Technologies, was inspired by a trip to the grocery store at the beginning of the pandemic and developed a disinfectant. There, she saw a worker spraying disinfectant on the refrigerator handle and then immediately wiped off the spray.
“Initially my idea was to develop a quick-acting disinfectant,” she said, “but we talked to consumers such as doctors and dentists to understand what disinfectant they really want. The most important thing for them is It is a long-lasting thing, it will continue to disinfect high contact areas such as door handles and the floor for a long time after application.”
Drake works with Sudipta Seal, a UCF materials engineer and nanoscience expert, and Griff Parks, a virologist, research associate dean of the School of Medicine, and dean of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Kismet Tech, and the Florida High-Tech Corridor, researchers have created a nanoparticle engineered disinfectant.
Its active ingredient is an engineered nanostructure called cerium oxide, known for its regenerative antioxidant properties. Cerium oxide nanoparticles are modified with a small amount of silver to make them more effective against pathogens.
“It works in both chemistry and machinery,” said Seal, who has been studying nanotechnology for more than 20 years. “Nanoparticles emit electrons to oxidize the virus and make it inactive. Mechanically, they also attach themselves to the virus and rupture the surface, just like bursting a balloon.”
Most disinfectant wipes or sprays will disinfect the surface within three to six minutes after use, but there is no residual effect. This means that the surface needs to be wiped repeatedly to keep it clean to avoid infection with multiple viruses such as COVID-19. The nanoparticle formulation maintains its ability to inactivate microorganisms and continues to disinfect the surface for up to 7 days after a single application.
“This disinfectant shows great antiviral activity against seven different viruses,” said Parks, whose laboratory is responsible for testing the formula’s resistance to the virus “dictionary”. “It not only shows antiviral properties against coronaviruses and rhinoviruses, but also proves that it is effective against a variety of other viruses with different structures and complexities. We hope that with this amazing ability to kill, this disinfectant will also It will become an effective tool against other emerging viruses.”
Scientists believe that this solution will have a significant impact on the healthcare environment, especially reducing the incidence of hospital-acquired infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium difficile—— They affect more than one in 30 patients admitted to American hospitals.
Unlike many commercial disinfectants, this formula does not contain harmful chemicals, which shows that it is safe to use on any surface. According to the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, regulatory tests on skin and eye cell irritation have shown no harmful effects.
“Many of the household disinfectants currently available contain chemicals that are harmful to the body after repeated exposure,” Drake said. “Our nanoparticle-based products will have a high level of safety, which will play an important role in reducing overall human exposure to chemicals.”
More research is needed before products enter the market, which is why the next phase of research will focus on the performance of disinfectants in practical applications outside the laboratory. This work will study how disinfectants are affected by external factors such as temperature or sunlight. The team is in talks with the local hospital network to test the product in their facilities.
“We are also exploring the development of a semi-permanent film to see if we can cover and seal hospital floors or door handles, areas that need to be disinfected, or even areas of active and continuous contact,” Drake said.
Seal joined UCF’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 1997, which is part of the UCF School of Engineering and Computer Science. Prosthesis. He is the former director of the UCF Nano Science and Technology Center and Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center. He received a PhD in materials engineering from the University of Wisconsin, with a minor in biochemistry, and is a postdoctoral researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.
After working at Wake Forest School of Medicine for 20 years, Parkes came to UCF in 2014, where he served as professor and head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and is a researcher of the American Cancer Society at Northwestern University.
The study was co-authored by Candace Fox, a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Medicine, and Craig Neal from the School of Engineering and Computer Science. Tamil Sakthivel, Udit Kumar, and Yifei Fu, graduate students of the School of Engineering and Computer Science, are also co-authors.
Post time: Sep-04-2021