Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug 30;13(17):2455.
doi: 10.3390/nano13172455.

Engineering Materials and Devices for the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of COVID-19 and Infectious Diseases

Jennifer Soto  1 , Chase Linsley  1 , Yang Song  1 , Binru Chen  1 , Jun Fang  1   2 , Josephine Neyyan  1 , Raul Davila  1 , Brandon Lee  1 , Benjamin Wu  1   3 , Song Li  1   4   5   6
Affiliations
Review

Engineering Materials and Devices for the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of COVID-19 and Infectious Diseases

Jennifer Soto et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Following the global spread of COVID-19, scientists and engineers have adapted technologies and developed new tools to aid in the fight against COVID-19. This review discusses various approaches to engineering biomaterials, devices, and therapeutics, especially at micro and nano levels, for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, serving as a resource for scientists to identify specific tools that can be applicable for infectious-disease-related research, technology development, and treatment. From the design and production of equipment critical to first responders and patients using three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to point-of-care devices for rapid diagnosis, these technologies and tools have been essential to address current global needs for the prevention and detection of diseases. Moreover, advancements in organ-on-a-chip platforms provide a valuable platform to not only study infections and disease development in humans but also allow for the screening of more effective therapeutics. In addition, vaccines, the repurposing of approved drugs, biomaterials, drug delivery, and cell therapy are promising approaches for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Following a comprehensive review of all these topics, we discuss unsolved problems and future directions.

Keywords: 3D printing; biofabrication; biomaterials; disease modeling; organ-on-a-chip; point-of-care diagnostics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Applications and benefits of 3D printing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three-dimensional printing can be utilized to address critical supply shortages, such as personal protective equipment and medical devices, which benefit patients, healthcare workers, and the community.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diagnostic approaches. (A) Samples are collected and subjected to various laboratory-based or point-of-care (PoC) tests based on nucleic acid detection, antibody detection, or antigen detection. RT-PCR: reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; LAMP: loop-mediated isothermal amplification. (B) Hospital-based medical imaging can be utilized for disease diagnosis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Disease modeling and drug discovery systems for COVID-19. Various cell sources can be implemented for disease modeling, including cell lines, primary cells, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), adult stem cells (ASCs), stem cell derivatives, and reprogrammed cells. Cells can be cultured in platforms ranging from 2D surfaces to more complex organ-on-a-chip devices and are highly valuable for a broad range of biomedical and regenerative medicine applications.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Organ-on-a-chip systems for COVID-19. Organ-on-a-chip devices can be engineered to study human disease pathology, expedite drug screening, and for the development of novel targeted therapeutics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Zhu N., Zhang D., Wang W., Li X., Yang B., Song J., Zhao X., Huang B., Shi W., Lu R., et al. A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;382:727–733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wu F., Zhao S., Yu B., Chen Y.M., Wang W., Song Z.G., Hu Y., Tao Z.W., Tian J.H., Pei Y.Y., et al. A New Coronavirus Associated with Human Respiratory Disease in China. Nature. 2020;579:265–269. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2008-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lu R., Zhao X., Li J., Niu P., Yang B., Wu H., Wang W., Song H., Huang B., Zhu N., et al. Genomic Characterisation and Epidemiology of 2019 Novel Coronavirus: Implications for Virus Origins and Receptor Binding. Lancet. 2020;395:565–574. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30251-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard|WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. [(accessed on 3 January 2021)]. Available online: https://covid19.who.int/
    1. Lai C.C., Shih T.P., Ko W.C., Tang H.J., Hsueh P.R. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19): The Epidemic and the Challenges. Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents. 2020;55:105924. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105924. - DOI - PMC - PubMed