An interdisciplinary research group at the Technical University of Munich has developed a system
The researchers explained that against dangerousThere are antibiotics for bacteria, but there are very few antidotes against acute viral infections. Some infections can be prevented by vaccination, but the development of new vaccines is a long and laborious process.
Now an interdisciplinary research groupfrom the Technical University of Munich, the Helmholtz Center in Munich and the Brandeis University (USA) proposes a new strategy for the treatment of acute viral infections. The team has developed nanostructures from DNA, a substance that makes up genetic material, that can capture viruses and render them harmless.
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In the summer of 2019, the team wondered if they couldwhether to use hollow bodies as a kind of trap for viruses. If they are lined with molecules that bind viruses from the inside, then they can firmly bind viruses and thus remove them from circulation. However, for this, the hollow bodies must have holes large enough through which viruses can enter the shell. Scientists have succeeded in doing this.
Starting from a basic geometric shapeThe icosahedron, an object made up of 20 triangular surfaces, the team decided to construct hollow bodies to trap viruses from three-dimensional triangular plates.
Virus trap source materials canbe mass-produced biotechnologically at a low cost. “In addition to its intended use as a virus trap, our programmable system creates other opportunities,” the researchers noted. "It can also be used as a multivalent antigen carrier for vaccination, a carrier of DNA or RNA for gene therapy, or as a vehicle for drugs."
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