Antiviral nanomaterials

Nanomaterials are materials that have at least one dimension within the nanometric scale (10-9 m), in a range between 1 and 100 nm. The nanometric size allows the material to have a very high surface area formed by surface atoms, characterized by high energy and reactivity due to their instability. In the last decades, their use and study have increased explosively, due to the improvement and availability of synthesis methods, and characterization techniques. The world of nanomaterials differs from that of bulk materials for their unique physical and chemical properties. They have properties different from those of the single atom or molecule and those of bulk matter with the same chemical composition. This uniqueness is due to the structures, shapes, phase changes energetic and electronic structures, chemical reactivity, and catalytic characteristics of these large finite systems. Nanomaterials are widely studied to be used in medicine and pharmaceuticals, due to their efficiency and convenience compared to other traditional materials. Their specific optical properties and their nanometric size allow the wide use in imaging techniques and in diagnostic, thanks to their sensitivity in the detection of key biological molecules. Nanomaterials used against infections perform an active action against microbes and pathogens. For years, nanotechnology has been studying new antibacterial and antifungal agents. Nanomaterials can interact with microbial species thanks to their size and surface characteristics, which allow for strong interactions with bacteria. In recent years, nanotechnology is also being studied to open new routes to fight and prevent viral diseases and viral spread. This thesis is about nanomaterials that have been studied in recent years against the spread of viruses, in particular against enveloped viruses that can infect animals and humans. These nanomaterials can interact with viruses through various mechanisms dictated by their chemical-physical properties, to inhibit or destroy viral particles. These nanomaterials interact with the viruses before host cell infection occurs and they are being studied to obtain new antiviral solutions with a broad spectrum of action. The engineering of antiviral nanomaterials is exploited for various applications in the field of personal protective equipment (PPE).