The use of nanomaterials as antiviral countermeasures is gaining popularity. Nanotechnology, in contrast to typical small molecules or antibodies that block viral replication or cellular entrance, provides medication developers with virus binders, cell-membrane decoys, or Nanoscale Virus Trap molecules that can be used to supplement standard antiviral medicines. Some researchers are hopeful that these materials may soon be ready for clinical use, thanks to an injection of funding sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are currently no viable antidotes for the majority of viral infections. A new strategy has been devised by an interdisciplinary research team at the Technical University of Munich: they use the DNA origami method to engulf and kill viruses with Nanoscale Virus Trap Molecule made from genetic material. In cell cultures, the technique has already been tested against hepatitis and adeno-associated viruses. It could possibly be effective against coronaviruses.
Antibiotics exist to treat hazardous bacteria, but there are few antidotes available to treat acute viral infections. Vaccination helps prevent some infections, but producing new vaccines is a lengthy and difficult procedure. A new therapeutic strategy for acute viral infections has been proposed by an interdisciplinary research team from the Technical University of Munich, the Helmholtz Zentrum München, and Brandeis University in the United States: Nanoscale Virus Trap Molecule consisting of DNA, the molecule that makes up our genetic material, have been constructed by the researchers to trap viruses and render them harmless.
A virus trap kit is included in this kit.
The researchers opted to make the hollow bodies for the Nanoscale Virus Trap Molecule out of three-dimensional, triangular plates, based on the basic geometric shape of the icosahedron, an entity made up of 20 triangular surfaces. The edges of the DNA plates must be slightly beveled in order for them to combine into larger geometrical structures. The right binding points on the edges, chosen and placed correctly, guarantee that the panels self-assemble to the desired objects.
"By using the exact shape of the triangular plates, we can now program the shape and size of the desired objects," Hendrik Dietz explains. "We can currently make objects with up to 180 subunits and achieve up to 95% yields. The path there, on the other hand, was bumpy and involved several iterations."