Daylight-driven rechargeable antibacterial and antiviral nanofibrous membranes for bioprotective applications

Si, Yang; Zhang, Zheng; Wu, Wanrong; Fu, Qiuxia; Huang, Kang; Nitin, Nitin; Ding, Bin; Sun, Gang

Public health outbreaks driven by emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) constitute the forefront of global safety concerns (1, 2) . EID outbreaks, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian influenza, and Ebola virus disease (EVD), have shaped the course of human history and caused incalculable misery and death (3, 4) . This issue was highlighted by the 2014 EVD epidemic crisis in West Africa, a total of 28,646 confirmed cases with 11,323 deaths, which was an explicit example of unpreparedness of the public health system (4) . In particular, the risk of acquisition of an EID during the care of a patient is significantly high for health care workers (HCWs) (5) . Although the HCWs did their best to control the recent EVD outbreaks, 852 HCWs were diagnosed with Ebola, and 492 of them died (6, 7) . The infection incidence among HCWs became 100 times higher than that of the general population (7) . To prevent the transmission of EID spread in a workplace, HCWs are advised to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks, bioprotective suits, and medical gloves, according to the standard infection prevention and control guidance (8, 9) . Although these PPE can significantly minimize the pathogen transmission, the risk of infection cannot be entirely eliminated (9) . EID pathogens can be effectively captured and intercepted by the relevant protective materials; however, the sustained infection activity of the pathogen could easily cause crosscontamination and postinfection, which might lead to increased risk of pathogen spreading (10, 11) . Alternatively, antimicrobial active protective technologies by incorporating biocidal agents into PPE materials could be another strategy to provide promising bioprotection against EID pathogens because direct contact killing is achieved (12, 13) . Various biocides, such as triclosan, nisaplin, essential oils, peptide, chitosan, and silver nanoparticles, have recently been incorporated for bioprotective applications (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) . However, their immediate biocidal effect usually suffers from significant decline due to the irreversible consumption of the biocides (19) . More effective, easy-to-use, field-deployable, and durable PPE materials to provide antimicrobial bioprotection from infection source to point-of-use are needed, particularly for the outdoor emergency medical services.