Photo-catalyzed TiO(2) inactivates pathogenic viruses by attacking viral genome

Tong, Yimin; Shi, Gansheng; Hu, Gaowei; Hu, Xiaoyou; Han, Lin; Xie, Xiaofeng; Xu, Yongfen; Zhang, Rong; Sun, Jing; Zhong, Jin

Previous observations have been reported that viruses were inactivated using strong irradiation. Here, some new evidence was disclosed by studying the effects of nanosized TiO(2) on viral pathogens under a low irradiation condition (0.4 mW/cm(2) at UVA band) that mimics the field setting. We showed that photo-activated TiO(2) efficiently inhibits hepatitis C virus infection, and week indoor light with intensity of 0.6 mW/cm(2) at broad-spectrum wavelength and around 0.15 mW/cm(2) of UVA band also lead to partial inhibition. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that hydroxyl radicals produced by photo-activated TiO(2) do not destroy virion structure and contents, but attack viral RNA genome, thus inactivating the virus. Furthermore, we showed that photo-activated TiO(2) inactivates a broad range of human viral pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, we showed that photo-catalyzed nanosized TiO(2) inactivates pathogenic viruses, paving a way to its field application in control of viral infectious diseases.