Researchers seek to develop antiviral membrane mask
Dibakar Bhattacharyya has been a member of the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky for over 50 years and is renowned for his research into incorporating life science materials into synthetic membranes to filter and produce clean water.
Today, the director of the UK's Membrane Science Centre, known to friends and colleagues as "DB", is using his decades of membrane expertise to help combat the spread of the new coronavirus. He has the concept and the means to develop a medical mask that would capture and deactivate the COVID-19 virus on contact.
"We have the ability to create a membrane that would not only effectively filter the new coronavirus as the N95 mask does, but would completely deactivate the virus," said Dr. DB. "This innovation would further slow down and even prevent the virus from spreading. It would also have future applications to protect against a number of human pathogenic viruses.
DB's idea is to create a membrane mask with a more porous and spongy structure that will include a charged domain and enzymes, which would effectively capture and deactivate the virus.
"The new coronavirus is covered with club-shaped s-protein spikes, which give it its crown, or coronal, appearance. The protein spikes are also what allows the virus to enter host cells once in the body. This new membrane will contain proteolytic enzymes that will attach to the coronavirus protein spikes and separate them, killing the virus," the DB said.
The new membrane will build on activities funded by the centre's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and National Science Foundation (NSF), which have developed various functionalized membranes for environmental remediation. Unlike passive membranes, functionalized membranes offer additional benefits by interacting with unwanted particles such as viruses through selective binding or deactivation.
To create and test the membrane, NSF plans to collaborate with researchers across campus, including Thomas Dziubla, Isabel Escobar and Zach Hilt of the School of Engineering, Allan Butterfield of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Thomas Chambers of the School of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
He and his co-investigators plan to gather preliminary data for the proposal and submit it to the National Institutes of Health or NSF, which recently issued an immediate call for proposals that could help combat the spread of the virus.
He estimates that the process would take about six months to create the finished, tested product. The work will then be facilitated by existing collaboration with a large-scale membrane manufacturer.
According to the DB, this type of collaboration across disciplines is a testament to the university's innovative and collaborative spirit, as well as its service-oriented mission.
"At the University of Kentucky, we have great resources at our fingertips and many opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research across several disciplines," said DB. "Our researchers work together and lend their expertise to solve challenges for the greater good of humanity, not only at a time like this, but every day.
