ArticleFrontiers in microbiology2025
Antiviral efficacy of silicon nitride against SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV: implications for PPE innovation.
Article in Frontiers in microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Medical interventions, such as masks, were a cornerstone in mitigating the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since 2019, the scientific community has increasingly focused on exploring avenues for pandemic prevention and preparedness to enhance responses to future viral outbreaks. One such area of interest explores the use of additives, such as silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), in masks to enhance the antiviral properties of personal protective equipment. Si₃N₄ powder has been shown to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 under aqueous conditions, with a similar yet modest reduction in virus when embedded into non-woven fabric. This study aimed to optimize the use of Si₃N₄ as an antiviral agent. We addressed this knowledge gap by comparing the viral inactivation potential of β-Si₃N₄ and α-Si₃N₄ powders against multiple SARS-CoV-2 lineages and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Additionally, we tested a refined non-woven fabric embedded with α-Si₃N₄ against SARS-CoV-2 (Lineage A). The results presented here suggest that α-Si₃N₄ was the most effective in reducing the infectious virus through viral RNA degradation, as determined by plaque assay and RT-qPCR. The most promising finding was the significant reduction of SARS-CoV-2 after only 10 min of exposure to refined α-Si₃N₄-embedded fabric. Thus, silicon nitride could be an invaluable inorganic additive in personal protective equipment during future viral epidemics and pandemics.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.