Designing antiviral surfaces to suppress the spread of COVID-19
- 1 May 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Physics of Fluids
- Vol. 33 (5), 052101
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0049404
Abstract
Surface engineering is an emerging technology to design antiviral surfaces, especially in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is yet no general understanding of the rules and optimized conditions governing the virucidal properties of engineered surfaces. The understanding is crucial for designing antiviral surfaces. Previous studies reported that the drying time of a residual thin-film after the evaporation of a bulk respiratory droplet on a smooth surface correlates with the coronavirus survival time. Recently, we [Chatterjee et al., Phys. Fluids. 33, 021701 (2021)] showed that the evaporation is much faster on porous than impermeable surfaces, making the porous surfaces lesser susceptible to virus survival. The faster evaporation on porous surfaces was attributed to an enhanced disjoining pressure within the thin-film due the presence of horizontally oriented fibers and void spaces. Motivated by this, we explore herein the disjoining pressure-driven thin-film evaporation mechanism and thereby the virucidal properties of engineered surfaces with varied wettability and texture. A generic model is developed which agrees qualitatively well with the previous virus titer measurements on nanostructured surfaces. Thereafter, we design model surfaces and report the optimized conditions for roughness and wettability to achieve the most prominent virucidal effect. We have deciphered that the optimized thin-film lifetime can be gained by tailoring wettability and roughness, irrespective of the nature of texture geometry. The present study expands the applicability of the process and demonstrates ways to design antiviral surfaces, thereby aiding to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.Funding Information
- Science and Engineering Research Board (EMR/2016/006326)
This publication has 76 references indexed in Scilit:
- Instabilities in evaporating liquid layer with insoluble surfactantPhysics of Fluids, 2013
- Mechanism of inactivation of influenza viruses by immobilized hydrophobic polycationsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010
- Inactivation of influenza A viruses in the environment and modes of transmission: A critical reviewJournal of Infection, 2008
- Pattern Formation and Dewetting in Thin Films of Liquids Showing Complete Macroscale Wetting: From “Pancakes” to “Swiss Cheese”Langmuir, 2004
- Dewetting Patterns and Molecular Forces: A ReconciliationPhysical Review Letters, 2001
- Molecular Simulations of DewettingPhysical Review Letters, 2000
- Instability and Morphology of Thin Liquid Films on Chemically Heterogeneous SubstratesPhysical Review Letters, 2000
- Spinodal Dewetting of Thin Polymer FilmsPhysical Review Letters, 1998
- Contact angle, wetting, and adhesion: a critical reviewJournal of Adhesion Science and Technology, 1992
- Wetting: statics and dynamicsReviews of Modern Physics, 1985