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Nano-paper
filter removes viruses
Nano-paper
filter removes viruses
Date:
March 31,
2014
Source:
Uppsala Universitet
Summary:
Researchers have developed a paper filter, which can
remove virus particles with the efficiency matching that of the best industrial
virus filters. The paper filter consists of 100 percent high purity cellulose
nanofibers, directly derived from nature. Cellulose is one of the most common
materials to produce various types of filters because it is inexpensive,
disposable, inert and non-toxic
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Researchers
at the Division of Nanotechnology and Functional Materials, Uppsala University
have developed a paper filter, which can remove virus particles with the
efficiency matching that of the best industrial virus filters. The paper filter
consists of 100 percent high purity cellulose nanofibers, directly derived from
nature.
The research
was carried out in collaboration with virologists from the Swedish University
of Agricultural Sciences/Swedish National Veterinary Institute and is published
in the Advanced Healthcare Materials journal.
Virus
particles are very peculiar objects- tiny (about thousand times thinner than a
human hair) yet mighty. Viruses can only replicate in living cells but once the
cells become infected the viruses can turn out to be extremely pathogenic.
Viruses can actively cause diseases on their own or even transform healthy
cells to malignant tumors.
"Viral
contamination of biotechnological products is a serious challenge for
production of therapeutic proteins and vaccines. Because of the small size,
virus removal is a non-trivial task, and, therefore, inexpensive and robust
virus removal filters are highly demanded" says Albert Mihranyan,
Associate Professor at the Division of Nanotechnology and Functional Materials,
Uppsala University, who heads the study.
Cellulose is
one of the most common materials to produce various types of filters because it
is inexpensive, disposable, inert and non-toxic. It is also mechanically
strong, hydrophyllic, stable in a wide range of pH, and can withstand
sterilization e.g. by autoclaving. Normal filter paper, used for chemistry, has
too large pores to remove viruses.
The
undergraduate student Linus Wågberg, Professor Maria Strømme, and Associate
Professor Albert Mihranyan at the Division of Nanotechnology and Functional
Materials, Uppsala University, in collaboration with virologists Dr. Giorgi
Metreveli, Eva Emmoth, and Professor Sándor Belák from the Swedish University
of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)/Swedish National Veterinary Institute (SVA),
report a design of a paper filter which is capable of removing virus particles
with the efficiency matching that of the best industrial virus filters. The
reported paper filter, which is manufactured according to the traditional paper
making processes, consists of 100 percent high purity cellulose nanofibers
directly derived from nature.
The
discovery is a result of a decade long research on the properties of high
surface area nanocellulose materials, which eventually enabled the scientists
to tailor the pore size distribution of their paper precisely in the range
desirable for virus filtration.
Previously
described virus removal paper filters relied heavily on interception of viruses
via electrostatic interactions, which are sensitive to pH and salt concentrations,
whereas the virus removal filters made from synthetic polymers and which rely
on size-exclusion are produced through tedious multistep phase-inversion
processing involving hazardous solvents and rigorous pore annealing processing.
Incidentally,
it was the Swedish chemist J.J. Berzelius (1779-1848), one of the most famous
alumni of Uppsala University, who was the first one to use the pure
wet-laid-all-rag paper for separation of precipitates in chemical analysis. In
a way, the virus removal nano-paper filter developed by the Uppsala scientists
is the modern day analogue of the widely popular Swedish Filter Paper developed
by Berzelius nearly two centuries ago.
Story
Source:
The above
story is based on materials provided by Uppsala Universitet. The original article was
written by Linda Koffmar. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal
Reference:
- Giorgi Metreveli, Linus Wågberg, Eva Emmoth, Sándor Belák, Maria Strømme, Albert Mihranyan. A Size-Exclusion Nanocellulose Filter Paper for Virus Removal. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2014; DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201300641