Herbal gold nanoparticles for attenuating pandemic infection of COVID-19 virus

Abstract

The exposure and heterogeneity of the new virus are increasing at an alarming rate. An unexpected outburst of Coronavirus has upraised various serious questions about their management using conventional diagnostic and medication measures. Vaccines help to train the immune system to avert people from developing the disease, such as COVID-19. If sufficient people become immune then the coronavirus would not be able to escalate effectively. Since there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19, so the researchers are competing to find more about it. From the various reviews, it has been found that the name “coronavirus” is derived from Latin corona, meaning “wreath” or “crown”. The name points out the characteristics aspect of virions (the infective form of the virus), which possess a fringe of large, bulbous surface projections producing an image reminiscent of a crown. Coronavirus is a large pleomorphic spherical particle with bulbous surface projections. The average diameter of the virus particles is around 120 nm. The infection starts about when the viral spike (S) glycoprotein binds to the complementary host cell receptor. After binding, a protease of the host cell splits and activates the receptor-attached spike protein. Various review studies proposed that coronavirus vaccines are produced by means of nanotechnology. The researchers prospered by, synthesizing virus-like particles (VLPs) in the form of nano-vesicles using insect cells. These nanoparticles are much similar to coronavirus, except that they do not have the virus genome; once they enter into the host's cells, they restore the immune system to fight against the infection caused by this type of virus. Furthermore, these nanoparticles of similar sizes are capable to bind with COVID-19 viruses and disorganize their structure with a combination of infrared light treatment. That structural disorganization would then halt the ability of the virus to survive and reproduce in the body. Gold nanoparticles and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are standout choices for interacting with the viruses and preventing their entry into cells because of their high specific surface area and the possibility of being functionalized with a broad range of functional groups. Among the metallic nanoparticles gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has great importance because of its wider applications in biomedical, drug delivery, biosensor, antioxidant anticancer due to its biocompatibility well-defined shape, size, stability and can be easily synthesized. In some research study it has been found that AuNPs can be stabilized with certain biocompatible polymer and could act as an effective antiviral agent against HIV-1, H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, bovine viral diarrhea virus, dengue virus, and Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDB). Herbal gold nanoparticles have effective antiviral activity and nano-based approaches especially AuNPs would be effective in the diagnosis of COVID-19 virus for attenuating this pandemic infection across the world.