The appearance of new and lethal viruses and their potential threat urgently requires innovative antiviral systems In addition to the most common and proven pharmacological methods, nanomaterials can represent alternative resources to fight viruses at different stages of infection, by selective action or in a broad spectrum A fundamental requirement is non-toxicity However, biocompatible nanomaterials have very often little or no antiviral activity, preventing their practical use Carbon-based nanomaterials have displayed encouraging results and can present the required mix of biocompatibility and antiviral properties In the present review, the main candidates for future carbon nanometric antiviral systems, namely graphene, carbon dots and fullerenes, have been critically analysed In general, different carbon nanostructures allow several strategies to be applied Some of the materials have peculiar antiviral properties, such as singlet oxygen emission, or the capacity to interfere with virus enzymes In other cases, nanomaterials have been used as a platform for functional molecules able to capture and inhibit viral activity The use of carbon-based biocompatible nanomaterials as antivirals is still an almost unexplored field, while the published results show promising prospects

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Carbon-based antiviral nanomaterials: graphene, C-dots, and fullerenes. A perspective

Therapeutic options for the highly pathogenic human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the current pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are urgently needed. COVID-19 is associated with viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome causing significant morbidity and mortality. The proposed treatments for COVID-19 have shown little or no effect in the clinic so far. Additionally, bacterial and fungal pathogens contribute to the SARS-CoV-2-mediated pneumonia disease complex. The antibiotic resistance in pneumonia treatment is increasing at an alarming rate. Therefore, carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs), such as fullerene, carbon dots, graphene, and their derivatives constitute a promising alternative due to their wide-spectrum antimicrobial activity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and capacity to induce tissue regeneration. Furthermore, the antimicrobial mode of action is mainly physical (e.g., membrane distortion), characterized by a low risk of antimicrobial resistance. In this Review, we evaluated the literature on the antiviral activity and broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties of CBNs. CBNs had antiviral activity against 13 enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. CBNs with low or no toxicity to humans are promising therapeutics against the COVID-19 pneumonia complex with other viruses, bacteria, and fungi, including those that are multidrug-resistant.

Carbon-Based Nanomaterials: Promising Antiviral Agents to Combat COVID-19 in the Microbial-Resistant Era.

Viral infections are one of the major causes of mortality and economic losses worldwide. Consequently, efficient virus detection methods are crucial to determine the infection prevalence. However, most detection methods face challenges related to false-negative or false-positive results, long response times, high costs, and/or the need for specialized equipment and staff. Such issues can be overcome by access to low-cost and fast response point-of-care detection systems, and two-dimensional materials (2DMs) can play a critical role in this regard. Indeed, the unique and tunable physicochemical properties of 2DMs provide many advantages for developing biosensors for viral infections with high sensitivity and selectivity. Fast, accurate, and reliable detection, even at early infection stages by the virus, can be potentially enabled by highly accessible surface interactions between the 2DMs and the analytes. High selectivity can be obtained by functionalization of the 2DMs with antibodies, nucleic acids, proteins, peptides, or aptamers, allowing for specific binding to a particular virus, viral fingerprints, or proteins released by the host organism. Multiplexed detection and discrimination between different virus strains are also feasible. In this Review, we present a comprehensive overview of the major advances of 2DM-based biosensors for the detection of viruses. We describe the main factors governing the efficient interactions between viruses and 2DMs, making them ideal candidates for the detection of viral infections. We also critically detail their advantages and drawbacks, providing insights for the development of future biosensors for virus detection. Lastly, we provide suggestions to stimulate research in the fast expanding field of 2DMs that could help in designing advanced systems for preventing virus-related pandemics.

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Two-Dimensional Material-Based Biosensors for Virus Detection.

Molecular dynamics simulations of conformation changes of HIV-1 regulatory protein on graphene

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is characterized by the injury, inflammation, and scarring in the liver owing to excessive alcohol consumption. Currently, ALD is a leading cause for liver transplantation. Therefore, extensive studies (in vitro, in experimental ALD models and in humans) are needed to elucidate pathological features and pathogenic mechanisms underlying ALD. Notably, oxidative changes in the liver have been recognized as a signature trait of ALD. Progression of ALD is linked to the generation of highly reactive free radicals by reactions involving ethanol and its metabolites. Furthermore, hepatic oxidative stress promotes tissue injury and, in turn, stimulates inflammatory responses in the liver, forming a pathological loop that promotes the progression of ALD. Accordingly, accumulating further knowledge on the relationship between oxidative stress and inflammation may help establish a viable therapeutic approach for treating ALD.

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Crosstalk between Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Liver Injury in the Pathogenesis of Alcoholic Liver Disease

p-Coumaric acid attenuates alcohol exposed hepatic injury through MAPKs, apoptosis and Nrf2 signaling in experimental models

Graphene draws considerable attention among biomedical researchers because of its unique physical, chemical and biological properties. The wide applications of graphene in the biomedical arena such as diagnostics, drug immobilization and drug delivery were well documented in the literature. However the therapeutic potential of the graphene towards retroviruses and the interactions of the graphene with receptors/proteins are still unexplored. Herein we report the antagonistic molecular interactions of graphene with the three key target proteins of HIV infections namely HIVVpr, Nef and Gag proteins. The docking investigations were performed to find the binding energy of the graphene ligands to the key target proteins of HIV. The high binding affinity of the graphene to these proteins indicates the antagonistic molecular interaction of graphene to the disease targets. The therapeutic potential of graphene was also studied by changing the size and the number of layers of the graphene. The experimental results confirm the good therapeutic potential of the graphene to combat HIV mediated retroviral infections.

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Molecular interactions of graphene with HIV-Vpr, Nef and Gag proteins: A new approach for treating HIV infections

Analysis of physicochemical parameters of tannery effluent treated with coir pith and Nava Rasa Karaisal and study of toxicity on plants

Environmental pollution, especially of water bodies, is one of the major problems and it is increased day by day. The contamination of environment with various toxic metals is a serious threat for ecosystem and human health. Industrial effluents may contain toxic metals, harmful volatile compounds and several organic and inorganic compounds such as chromium, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and lead which are directly or indirectly discharged into the environment without adequate treatment. However, tannery industries are the major source of chromium contamination into the environment. Tanneries are typically characterized as pollution intensive industrial complexes which generate widely varying, high-strength wastewaters. The discharge of these toxic effluents has been a major loss from the ecological, social and economic perspective. There are many conventional physiochemical methods available for the removal of heavy metals from the tannery effluents that are highly expensive and require skilled techniques. However, microbial reduction of toxic chromium to non-toxic chromium by chromium resistance microorganism is the most pragmatic approach that offers an economical as well as eco-friendly process. Hence, this study examines the biodegradation of tannery effluent and its impacts on the germination of Oryza sativa seeds.

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Malliga Perumal

Papers

p-Coumaric acid attenuates alcohol exposed hepatic injury through MAPKs, apoptosis and Nrf2 signaling in experimental models

Molecular interactions of graphene with HIV-Vpr, Nef and Gag proteins: A new approach for treating HIV infections

Analysis of physicochemical parameters of tannery effluent treated with coir pith and Nava Rasa Karaisal and study of toxicity on plants

Biodegradation of tannery effluent and its impact on seed germination ofOryza sativa