Lignin: A Sustainable Antiviral Coating Material

Alice Boarino; Heyun Wang; Francesca Olgiati; Fiora Artusio; Melis Özkan; Stefania Bertella; Nicolò Razza; Valeria Cagno; Jeremy S. Luterbacher; Harm Anton Klok; Francesco Stellacci

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c04284

Lignin: A Sustainable Antiviral Coating Material

Alice Boarino, Heyun Wang, Francesca Olgiati, Fiora Artusio, Melis Özkan, Stefania Bertella, Nicolò Razza, Valeria Cagno, Jeremy S. Luterbacher, Harm Anton Klok^*, Francesco Stellacci^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Not published at VTT

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Transmission of viruses through contact with contaminated surfaces is an important pathway for the spread of infections. Antiviral surface coatings are useful to minimize such risks. Current state-of-the-art approaches toward antiviral surface coatings either involve metal-based materials or complex synthetic polymers. These approaches, however, even if successful, will have to face great challenges when it comes to large-scale applications and their environmental sustainability. Here, an antiviral surface coating was prepared by spin-coating lignin, a natural biomass residue of the paper production industry. We show effective inactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (>99% after 30 min) on a surface coating that is low-cost and environmentally sustainable. The antiviral mechanism of the lignin surface was investigated and is attributed to reactive oxygen species generated upon oxidation of lignin phenols. This mechanism does not consume the surface coating (as opposed to the release of a specific antiviral agent) and does not require regeneration. The coating is stable in ambient conditions, as demonstrated in a 6 month aging study that did not reveal any decrease in antiviral activity. This research suggests that natural compounds may be used for the development of affordable and sustainable antiviral coatings.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	14001-14010
Number of pages	10
Journal	ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Volume	10
Issue number	42
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c04284
Publication status	Published - 24 Oct 2022
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

A.B., S.B., J.S.L., and H.-A.K. acknowledge Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Grant CRSII5_180258 for financial support. H.W. and F.S. acknowledge SNSF NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials funding and SNSF Grant 200020_185062 for financial support. M.O\u0308. acknowledges EU H2020 Project NeuTouch under Grant Agreement No. 813713 for financial support. The authors acknowledge Prof. I. Eckerle, Dr. M. Essaidi-Laziosi, and Dr. M. Bekliz (University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland) for providing SARS-CoV-2 strains, Dr. M. Gasbarri (EPFL) for valuable discussions, and V. Padrun (EPFL) for supporting BSL-3 experiments.

Keywords

antiviral surface
herpes simplex virus type 2
lignocellulosic biomass
reactive oxygen species
sustainable material

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c04284Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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title = "Lignin: A Sustainable Antiviral Coating Material",

abstract = "Transmission of viruses through contact with contaminated surfaces is an important pathway for the spread of infections. Antiviral surface coatings are useful to minimize such risks. Current state-of-the-art approaches toward antiviral surface coatings either involve metal-based materials or complex synthetic polymers. These approaches, however, even if successful, will have to face great challenges when it comes to large-scale applications and their environmental sustainability. Here, an antiviral surface coating was prepared by spin-coating lignin, a natural biomass residue of the paper production industry. We show effective inactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (>99% after 30 min) on a surface coating that is low-cost and environmentally sustainable. The antiviral mechanism of the lignin surface was investigated and is attributed to reactive oxygen species generated upon oxidation of lignin phenols. This mechanism does not consume the surface coating (as opposed to the release of a specific antiviral agent) and does not require regeneration. The coating is stable in ambient conditions, as demonstrated in a 6 month aging study that did not reveal any decrease in antiviral activity. This research suggests that natural compounds may be used for the development of affordable and sustainable antiviral coatings.",

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AB - Transmission of viruses through contact with contaminated surfaces is an important pathway for the spread of infections. Antiviral surface coatings are useful to minimize such risks. Current state-of-the-art approaches toward antiviral surface coatings either involve metal-based materials or complex synthetic polymers. These approaches, however, even if successful, will have to face great challenges when it comes to large-scale applications and their environmental sustainability. Here, an antiviral surface coating was prepared by spin-coating lignin, a natural biomass residue of the paper production industry. We show effective inactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (>99% after 30 min) on a surface coating that is low-cost and environmentally sustainable. The antiviral mechanism of the lignin surface was investigated and is attributed to reactive oxygen species generated upon oxidation of lignin phenols. This mechanism does not consume the surface coating (as opposed to the release of a specific antiviral agent) and does not require regeneration. The coating is stable in ambient conditions, as demonstrated in a 6 month aging study that did not reveal any decrease in antiviral activity. This research suggests that natural compounds may be used for the development of affordable and sustainable antiviral coatings.

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Lignin: A Sustainable Antiviral Coating Material

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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