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Polymers with antiviral properties: A brief review.
Zmonarski, S, Stojanowski, J, Zmonarska, J
Polimery w medycynie. 2020;(2):79-82
Abstract
Viruses that are pathogenic to humans and livestock pose a serious epidemiological threat and challenge the world's population. The SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic has made the world aware of the scale of the threat. The surfaces of various materials can be a source of viruses that remain temporarily contagious in the environment. Few polymers have antiviral effects that reduce infectivity or the presence of a virus in the human environment. Some of the effects are due to certain physical properties, e.g., high hydrophobicity. Other materials owe their antiviral activity to a modified physicochemical structure favoring the action on specific virus receptors or on their biochemistry. Current research areas include: gluten, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyimide, polylactic acid, graphene oxide, and polyurethane bound to copper oxide. The future belongs to multi-component mixtures or very thin multilayer systems. The rational direction of research work is the search for materials with a balanced specificity in relation to the most dangerous viruses and universality in relation to other viruses.