Gold nanoparticles possibly broad-spectrum treatment against viruses: Swiss study

GENEVA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Gold nanoparticles can attract and destroy viruses by using the pressure resulting from the binding process, which could lead to the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs, according to a statement by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) on Wednesday.

While drugs can be used against some viruses, there is currently no broad-spectrum treatment that is effective against several at the same time, in the same way that broad-spectrum antibiotics fight a range of bacteria.

EPFL researchers created the gold nanoparticles which, once injected in the body, can imitate human cells and "trick" the viruses to bind to them. The nanoparticles then use pressure produced locally by this link-up to "break" the viruses, rendering them innocuous. The results of this research have been published in Nature Materials.

This would enable doctors to use a single drug to combat all viruses that are still deadly because no treatment currently exists. Such non-specific therapies are especially needed in developing regions, where doctors do not have the tools they need to make accurate diagnoses.

Meanwhile, broad-spectrum antiviral drugs would also help curb the antimicrobial resistance resulting from the over-prescription of antibiotics, as the blanket use of antibiotics by doctors is fostering the development of virus mutations and a build-up of resistance in humans.

Until now, research into broad-spectrum virus treatments has only produced approaches that are either toxic to humans or working effectively in vitro, or in the lab, but not in vivo. Unlike other treatments, these gold nanoparticles are harmless to humans and the use of pressure is non-toxic.

"Viruses replicate within cells, and it is very difficult to find a chemical substance that attacks viruses without harming the host cells," says Francesco Stellacci from the EPFL School of Engineering. "But until now, that's been the only known approach attempted permanently damage viruses." The new method is unique in that it achieves permanent damage to the viral integrity without damaging living cells.

So far, EPFL researchers have succeeded in vitro experiments on cell cultures infected by herpes simplex virus, papillomavirus which can lead to uterine cancer, respiratory syncytial virus which can cause pneumonia, dengue virus and HIV. Enditem