Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Viral infections remain a global health challenge, highlighting the urgent need for innovative antiviral strategies. Broad-spectrum antivirals offer a promising solution. Virustatic compounds fail due to their reversible mechanisms, while existing virucidal agents are frequently limited by toxicity. Here, POSTAN, a novel, biocompatible virucidal lipid nanoparticle engineered for direct antiviral activity is presented. Composed of polyoxyethylene sorbitan oleate (PO) and sodium taurodeoxycholate (ST), POSTAN mimics heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans and lipid rafts-host cell structures commonly exploited by viruses for attachment. POSTAN demonstrates optimal physicochemical properties for pulmonary delivery, minimal to no toxicity in Vero cells and human airway epithelial (HAE) cultures, and a favorable safety profile in neonatal mice. It exhibits broad-spectrum virucidal activity at micromolar concentrations against herpes simplex virus (HSV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Zika virus, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), and SARS-CoV-2 by disrupting viral envelopes. In HAE cultures, POSTAN reduced SARS-CoV-2 titers by 5- and 3-log before and after infection. In a neonatal RSV mouse model, intranasal POSTAN led to 6-, 10-, and 19-fold reductions in lung viral titers following prophylactic, therapeutic, or combined prophylactic and therapeutic treatments. It mitigated lung pathology and prevented hemorrhage. These findings support POSTAN as a safe, effective, broad-spectrum antiviral platform for respiratory infections.
Source: Small
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,790
Awards: G2587338720, Sustained drug delivery systems targeting the epithelial tissue, G2807996078, G295657101, Mechanisms of carcinogenic initiation and promotion, G3117118027, G3572101131, G3690646728, Investigation of physical methods associated with drug delivery systems in the local immune and antimicrobial response, Novel virucidal drugs: From basic to in vivo studies, Emerging and re-emerging viruses: biology, pathogenesis and prospection, G7976704053, G8506918660
OpenAlex ID: W4416227115