Antiviral Activity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Tetrapods Against the Hepatitis E and Hepatitis C Viruses

Overview

Journal Front Microbiol

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2022 Jul 11

PMID 35814711

Authors

Jyoti Gupta

Minnah Irfan

Niranjan Ramgir

K P Muthe

A K Debnath

Shabnam Ansari

Jaya Gandhi

C T Ranjith-Kumar

Milan Surjit

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes an acute, self-limiting hepatitis. The disease takes a severe form in pregnant women, leading to around 30% mortality. Zinc is an essential micronutrient that plays a crucial role in multiple cellular processes. Our earlier findings demonstrated the antiviral activity of zinc salts against HEV infection. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and its nanostructures have attracted marked interest due to their unique characteristics. Here we synthesized ZnO nanoparticles [ZnO(NP)] and tetrapod-shaped ZnO nanoparticles [ZnO(TP)] and evaluated their antiviral activity. Both ZnO(NP) and ZnO(TP) displayed potent antiviral activity against hepatitis E and hepatitis C viruses, with the latter being more effective. Measurement of cell viability and intracellular reactive oxygen species levels revealed that both ZnO(NP) and ZnO(TP) are noncytotoxic to the cells even at significantly higher doses, compared to a conventional zinc salt (ZnSO). Our study paves the way for evaluation of the potential therapeutic benefit of ZnO(TP) against HEV and HCV.

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