Can nanotechnology -- manipulate matter at the atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels—help to fight the new coronavirus pneumonia?
A report published by the British Science News website stated that Thomas Webster believes that nanotechnology can do this. The reason is simple. The structure of the new coronavirus is similar to that of nanoparticles.
Since the outbreak in late 2019, researchers have rushed to carry out research to deepen their understanding of the new coronavirus. The new coronavirus is a member of the coronavirus family. This type of virus gets its name because it looks like a crown.
The report said that Webster is a chemical engineer who specializes in the development of nano-scale drugs and technologies to treat diseases and is also one of many scientists who provide ideas and technologies to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fight the epidemic.
Webster proposed that particles of similar size to the new coronavirus can be attached to the virus, combined with infrared treatment to destroy the virus structure.
The report said that this structural change would prevent the virus from surviving and multiplying in the human body.
Webster, a professor of chemical engineering at Northeastern University in the United States, said: "You have to think at this level of size. If you want to find the virus, if you want to inactivate the virus, it must be in the nanometer range."
The report said that using nanomedicine to discover viruses and eliminate their infectivity is at the heart of what Webster and other researchers call "therapeutic diagnostic technology." The focus of this technology is to combine treatment with diagnosis.
Using this method, Webster's laboratory specializes in using nanoparticles to fight the microorganisms that cause influenza and tuberculosis.
He said: "It is not a method to detect whether it is infected with a virus, and then another method to treat it. It is to use the same particle and the same method for both detection and treatment."
Preliminary research shows that the new coronavirus can survive for several days after it is attached to countertops, armrests, and other hard surfaces.
The report said that before the pathogens enter the body, they are still attached to different objects and surfaces, and nanoparticles can make them lose their pathogenicity.
Webster's laboratory has developed materials that can be sprayed on objects, form nanoparticles and attack viruses.
He said: "Even if the virus remains on the surface, on someone's table, on the iPhone, it doesn't make any sense. Because this is not an active virus."
According to reports, this technology can be fine-tuned to target various viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. Unlike other new drugs with large molecular structures, nanoparticles are so small that they can travel through the body without destroying other functions, such as immune system functions.
Special Report: Fighting The New Coronavirus
