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Review
. 2020 Nov 4;3(5):1433-1441.
doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2020.10.006. Epub 2020 Oct 6.

All Surfaces Are Not Equal in Contact Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Affiliations
Review

All Surfaces Are Not Equal in Contact Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Xuan Xue et al. Matter. .

Abstract

The world faces a severe and acute public health emergency due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Healthcare workers are in the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response and are exposed to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection daily. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is their main defense against viral contamination; gloves, visors, face masks, and gown materials are designed to eliminate viral transfer from infected patients. Here, we review research investigating the stability of SARS-CoV-2 and similar viruses on surfaces and highlight opportunities for materials that can actively reduce SARS-CoV-2 surface contamination and associated transmission and improve PPE.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; contact transfer; personal protective equipment; polymer; surface; virus.

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Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Opportunities for Materials to Actively Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Surface Contamination and Associated Transmission (A) An image showing fluorescent powder, representing viruses, transferred from door handle to hand after contact. (B) The to-be-developed new polymer surface binding virus particles strongly and speeding the inactivation of adsorbed virus under ambient conditions (blue, infectious virus particles; orange, inactivated virus particles). (C) Schematic depiction of the process of polymer microarray screening, showing the printing of the monomers, the in situ UV polymerization of the monomers, and finally their incubation with differently fluorescently tagged virus-like particles.

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