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Inhibition of H1n1 Influenza Virus Infection by Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: Another Emerging Application of Nanomedicine Publisher Pubmed



Ghaffari H1 ; Tavakoli A1 ; Moradi A2 ; Tabarraei A2 ; Bokharaeisalim F1 ; Zahmatkeshan M3, 4 ; Farahmand M5 ; Javanmard D1 ; Kiani SJ1 ; Esghaei M1 ; Pirhajatimahabadi V3, 6 ; Ataeipirkooh A1 ; Monavari SH1
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Medical Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
  3. 3. Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5. Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  6. 6. Neuroscience Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: Journal of Biomedical Science Published:2019


Abstract

Background: Currently available anti-influenza drugs are often associated with limitations such as toxicity and the appearance of drug-resistant strains. Therefore, there is a pressing need for the development of novel, safe and more efficient antiviral agents. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and PEGylated zinc oxide nanoparticles against H1N1 influenza virus. Methods: The nanoparticles were characterized using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction analysis, and electron microscopy. MTT assay was applied to assess the cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles, and anti-influenza activity was determined by TCID50 and quantitative Real-Time PCR assays. To study the inhibitory impact of nanoparticles on the expression of viral antigens, an indirect immunofluorescence assay was also performed. Results: Post-exposure of influenza virus with PEGylated ZnO-NPs and bare ZnO-NPs at the highest non-toxic concentrations could be led to 2.8 and 1.2 log10 TCID50 reduction in virus titer when compared to the virus control, respectively (P < 0.0001). At the highest non-toxic concentrations, the PEGylated and unPEGylated ZnO-NPs led to inhibition rates of 94.6 and 52.2%, respectively, which were calculated based on the viral loads. There was a substantial decrease in fluorescence emission intensity in viral-infected cell treated with PEGylated ZnO-NPs compared to the positive control. Conclusions: Taken together, our study indicated that PEGylated ZnO-NPs could be a novel, effective, and promising antiviral agent against H1N1 influenza virus infection, and future studies can be designed to explore the exact antiviral mechanism of these nanoparticles. © 2019 The Author(s).