Methodological notes onpandemic virus SARS-CoV-2 research.

Gianluigi Zangari Del Balzo

doi:10.1007/s12064-021-00355-5

Abstract

In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, many brilliant results have been achieved, but the thermodynamics of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has been completely neglected. This is a serious systematic error, which can compromise the results of the entire pandemic virus SARS-CoV-2 research. In the present work, we therefore study the thermodynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in its environment, from air to endosome and endosome-independent cell entry pathways. In the study of the thermodynamics of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in air, the presence of pollen, bacteria, other viruses, spores, dust, but more particularly, that of nanoparticles of health interest at the same scale threshold as the spike proteins of the pandemic virus, such as particulate matter, cannot be neglected. This work therefore starts from a comparative study of the air environments in China and Italy, the first countries affected by the infection. Currently, a correlation between the spread of infection and pollution is still very controversial. But our paper is not concerned with this. We propose some methodological notes which lead us to the formulation of a general mathematical apparatus (an energy landscape theory), suitable to explain at the molecular level the energetic configurations of the quasi-species of the pandemic virus SARS-CoV-2 in its environment. We focus on complexes between the viral particle and other objects in its environment at the scale threshold of the spikes of the viral particle. Then, we wondered if such complexes can lead to the generation of more aggressive viral variants and how to predict their populations and energy configurations, in order to plan an adequate prophylaxis.

Highlights

The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 appeared in Wuhan, the capital of the Chinese province of Hubei, in December 2019
The topic immediately aroused my interest as a theoretical physicist and since the end of February 2020, I was wondering how the SARS-CoV-2 new coronavirus could be directly affected by the environment and what effects this correlation could have on the COVID-19 pandemic
Some methodological notes have been addressed concerning the research on the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

Summary

China and Italy

Let’s start on China and Italy the two nations tragically hit first by the epidemic. In the Chinese case, I will focus on Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, while in the Italian case I will focus on Northern Italy, with particular attention to the case of Lombardia. Lombardia has roughly the same population of Wuhan (about 10 million people) (The Government of Wuhan 2020; Setti et al 2020; Regione Lombardia 2020). Both have been affected by the pandemic in the most devastating way. Both have suffered a severe environmental pollution situation in recent years, China with greater severity and impact on the health of population (Wang et al 2019; CHINA National Environmental Monitoring Centre—CNEMC 2020; Rongshan Wu et al 2018; Rohde and Muller 2015; He et al 2017; Liang et al 2019; Zhao et al 2018; Liu et al 2017; Anenberg et al 2019; Zhu et al 2018; Kuerban et al 2020; Zhang and Cao 2015; Xu et al 2020; Ren et al 2017). Note that the highest values of particulate matter are reached in the regions of Northern Italy (See Fig. 4), (See Fig. 5)

Particulate matter

Such that the total entropy will be

The free energy will be

Conclusions and discussion