posted on 2023-01-03, 20:43authored byGregory
R. Schwenk, Adam M. Glass, Hai-Feng Ji, Garth D. Ehrlich, Sonia Navas-Martin, Jarosław
E. Król, Donald C. Hall
Since the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the world
has witnessed
over 617 million confirmed cases and more than 6.54 million confirmed
deaths, but the actual totals are likely much higher. The virus has
mutated at a significantly faster rate than initially projected, and
positive cases continue to surge with the emergence of ever more transmissible
variants. According to the CDC, and at the time of this manuscript
submission, more than 77% of all current US cases are a result of
the B.5 (omicron). The continued emergence of highly transmissible
variants makes clear the need for more effective methods of mitigating
disease spread. Herein, we have developed an antimicrobial fabric
capable of destroying a myriad of microbes including betacoronaviruses.
We have demonstrated the capability of this highly porous and nontoxic
metal organic framework (MOF), γ-CD-MOF-1, to serve as a host
for varied-length benzalkonium chlorides (BACs; active ingredient
in Lysol). Molecular docking simulations predicted a binding affinity
of up to −4.12 kcal·mol–1, which is
comparable to that of other reported guest molecules for this MOF.
Similar Raman spectra and powder X-ray diffraction patterns between
the unloaded and loaded MOFs, accompanied by a decrease in the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
surface area from 616.20 and 155.55 m2 g–1 respectively, corroborate the suggested potential for pore occupation
with BAC. The MOF was grown on polypropylene fabric, exposed to a
BAC-loading bath, washed to remove excess BAC from the external surface,
and evaluated for its microbicidal activity against various bacterial
and viral classes. Significant antimicrobial character was observed
against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia
coli, bacteriophage, and betacoronavirus. This study
shows that a common mask material (polypropylene) can be coated with
BAC-loaded γ-CD-MOF-1 while maintaining the guest molecule’s
antimicrobial effects.