When nanotechnology focuses on COVID-19

Two nanoparticle-based vaccines close to obtaining approval by the US Food and Drug Administration could represent a giant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it is time for the nanotechnology community to shine and build on its experience with nanoscale materials and drug delivery to provide knowledge and tools for COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics development.

The identification and isolation of individuals with COVID-19 can help to flatten the epidemic curve and win us time to wait for the vaccine development and production, and antiviral drug therapies.

Chloroquine — an approved malaria drug — is known in nanomedicine research for the investigation of nanoparticle uptake in cells, and may have potential for the treatment of COVID-19.

Nanotechnology-based antimicrobial and antiviral formulations can prevent SARS-CoV-2 viral dissemination, and highly sensitive biosensors and detection platforms may contribute to the detection and diagnosis of COVID-19.

Nano-formulating dexamethasone, and administering it via intravenous injection or inhalation, may help to improve anti-COVID-19 treatment efficacy by targeting the potent corticosteroid drug to hyper-activated immune cells, by potentiating its anti-oedema activity and by exploiting its anti-fibrotic effects.

This Review provides an overview of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and examines the immune-mediated approaches currently being explored for COVID-19 treatments, with an emphasis on nanotechnological tools.

This Review highlights current approaches to COVID-19 vaccine development, highlighting the role of nanotechnology, manufacturing and distribution.

As the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered worldwide closures of research labs and facilities, Kostas Kostarelos shares his views on what may be going wrong in the fight against COVID-19 and how the nanoscience community could and should contribute.