1-D Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes Aided by UVC Radiation for Inactivation of Human Coronavirus

Abstract

SAR-CoV-2 virus, a pathogenic human coronavirus led to a global outbreak called COVID-19. Nearly, 150 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed worldwide by the end of April 2021. Safety precautions and effective disease control strategies appear to be vital for preventing the virus spread in the public places. Due to the longevity of the virus on smooth surfaces, photocatalytic properties of “self-disinfecting/cleaning” surfaces appear to be a promising tool to help guide disinfection policies to control infectious SAR-CoV-2 spread in high-traffic areas such as hospitals, grocery stores, airports, schools, and stadiums. In this study, we have demonstrated the effectiveness of TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) towards photocatalytic inactivation of a close genetic relative of SAR-CoV-2, OC43. TNTs with different diameter and length were synthesized by anodization process and their impact on the photocatalytic inactivation performance of TNTs was examined by quantitative RT-qPCR and virus culture assays. The virucidal efficacy was tested under different UV exposure time. Reusability experiments showed the remarkable cyclic stability of TNTs. The findings also form the basis for the application of an electrical bias on the TiO2 electrodes towards inactivation of the virus. Efforts to extrapolate the underlying concepts described in this study to SARS-CoV-2 are currently underway.