Insight into Antiviral Activity of Ag/TiO

Purpose: Synthesis and characterization of silver (Ag)/titanium dioxide (TiO Materials and Methods: A water-dispersible ATA was prepared by a photocatalytic reduction process from AgNO Results: These results showed the successful synthesis of ATA nanocomposite with uniform particle size and distribution. It demonstrated the highly efficient antiviral activity of ATA in a dose- and time-dependent manner, as indicated by the reduction of viral titer and the reduction of cytopathic effects caused by viral infection. In the presence of ATA, the structure of the H1N1 influenza virus is directly destroyed and even disintegrated, with the damaged surface membrane proteins and fuzzy contour. It reduces the infection efficiency of influenza by suppressing the activity and expression of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. The results of mechanistic studies suggested that ATA nanocomposite primarily interferes with virus attachment to viral receptors on the cell surface. Conclusion: Our study suggests that ATA may be a good antiviral candidate against the influenza virus. Compared with AgNPs alone, our synthesized ATA nanocomposites can achieve similar viral inactivation rates using only a much smaller concentration of AgNPs, greatly reducing the amount of AgNPs and their potential side effects. It has great practical value for attaching ATA to the high-efficiency particulate air network in the air purifier, which can kill the virus attached to it and limit its spread.