Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has significantly affected the world, creating a global health emergency. For controlling the virus spread, effective and reliable diagnostic and therapeutic measures are highly expected. Using proper biomedical materials to produce detection kits/devices and personal protective equipment (PPE), such as swabs and masks, has become the focus since they play critical roles in virus diagnostics and prevention. Electrospun polymer composites have garnered substantial interest due to their potential to provide antiviral healthcare solutions. In this review, we summarized the recent efforts in developing advanced antiviral electrospun polymer composites for virus detection and prevention. We highlighted some novel strategies for developing effective antiviral personal protective equipment (PPE), including self-sterilization, reusability, and potential antiviral drug encapsulation. Besides, we discussed the current challenges and future perspectives for improving the materials’ performance to achieve better virus detection, antiviral, prevention, and therapeutics.
Introduction
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has significantly impacted the world’s economy and people’s life (; ; ; ; ). The number of confirmed cases across the world so far has reached more than 200 million, and the number of deaths has gone beyond 4.5 million1. Based on the current pandemic status analysis, it is not very likely that the pandemic will end in a short period due to the rapid mutation of the coronavirus. Therefore, developing strategies for accurate and rapid diagnostics, efficient protection, and effective therapeutics is in high demand to control the virus spread (; ; ). To achieve the goal, multidisciplinary research is needed. Scientists from various fields such as chemistry, materials science, and biotechnology need to work together to tackle multiple challenges (; ; ). For example, biologists and biochemists are working hard to reveal the structures of viral proteins and identify the critical pathways for the infection. Materials scientists and biochemists focus on developing effective point-of-care (POC) diagnostic kits or devices for rapid and accurate diagnosis. Biologists, chemists, and clinicians are collaborating to innovate effective treatment and vaccination strategies (; ; ). From a materials science perspective, developing efficient antiviral materials is critical in protecting against the virus, particularly during the pandemic (; ; ; ; ). Up to date, some antiviral materials in the forms of nanoparticles, hydrogels, and fibers have been developed to tackle COVID-19, where most of them are based on electrospun polymer composites (; ; ).
Electrospun polymer composites (; ; ) have been widely used for making personal protective equipment (PPE) against virus infections (; ). They are composed of nano/microscale electrospun fibers with tailored compositions for specific application needs. These composites generally have a high surface-to-volume ratio, tunable porosity and mechanical properties, and designed functionalities such as hydrophobicity and bio-responsiveness.
Here in this mini-review, we briefly summarized the recent progress on antiviral electrospun polymer composites for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on virus sampling and detection, antiviral protection, drug encapsulation and delivery, and materials sustainability. We also discussed the current challenges and future opportunities for improving the performance of materials for better viral protection, detection, and treatment.
Virus Sampling and Detection
Efficient sampling and rapid detection help control the spread of viruses. For viral detection, immunoassays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests are widely used. These two detection techniques require different sampling strategies. Immunoassays are usually applied for the viral detection of infected patients. They require finger-prick or blood-draw for the detection of generated antibodies. In comparison, the PCR-based tests are typically less invasive, and it is used to detect viral DNA or RNA. The PCR-based tests are applied widely to detect the single-stranded RNA virus SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sampling techniques such as swab sampling and bronchoalveolar lavage are adopted to collect specimens from the environments and individuals2 (; ; ). Electrospun polymer composites are considered good materials for developing highly efficient sampling strategies, particularly swab sampling.
Swab sampling is a standard method used to collect biological specimens, and it is the most popular diagnostic technique during the COVID-19 pandemic (; ; ; ). To ensure early and accurate diagnostic outcomes, good swab fabrication techniques are required. For example, achieving sufficient biomarkers collection from limited biological samples and later efficient recovery from the swab is one key aspect (; ; ). McCarthy et al. reported a new class of nanofiber swabs tipped with hierarchical 3D nanofiber objects produced by expanding electrospun membranes with a solids-of-revolution-inspired gas foaming technique (Figure 1) (; ). In the study, they generated radially aligned gelatin-coated PCL nanofiber objects with cylindrical shapes and bonded them to plastic swab sticks. The developed nanofiber swabs significantly improved the absorption and release of proteins, cells, viruses, etc., from solutions and surfaces. The nanofiber swabs in SARS-CoV-2 detection showed reduced false negative rates at two viral concentrations. They pushed the detection limit to a ten times lower viral concentration than classical flocked and cotton swabs (; ). Moreover, both electrospinning and lyophilization are easy to scale up. Therefore, nanofiber swabs have great potential for broader diagnostic applications.
FIGURE 1
Antiviral Protection
One key and effective strategy of preventing virus infection is physical protection. Face masks with specific cut-off sizes are mainly used as barriers to reduce human-to-human transmission. In general, there are two types of masks: face (surgical) masks and respirator masks, which are used in low- and high-risk medical settings, respectively, for providing satisfying protection (
Recently, an innovative and stimuli-responsive face mask was developed based on electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) composite fibers integrated with antiviral polyphosphate (
Conventional polypropylene (PP)-based medical masks suffer severe issues such as increased electrostatic adsorption of viral particles associated with the water vapor exhaled by wearers. Recently, a new medical mask composed of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as an inner layer was fabricated to replace the PP melt-blown layer in conventional medical masks. Since the PVA is rich in hydroxyl groups, the electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) formed hydrogen bonds with water molecules exhaled by the human body. The trapped water molecules thus increased the triboelectricity and enhanced charge retention performance in a high humidity environment (
Besides synthetic materials, biomass was also used to develop a biobased antiviral face mask to control the spread of SARS-COV-2. A recent study explored the design and fabrication of an antiviral face mask using licorice root extracts, which has antimicrobial properties due to glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) and glycyrrhizin (GL) (
Some inorganic nanomaterials have also been used to integrate antiviral properties into the electrospun polymer composites (
FIGURE 2

Examples of the electrospinning process for the fabrication of the functional mask layers. (A) The schematic of the synthesis of ZnO nanorods, preparation of the electrospinning solution of PMMA and ZnO nanorods with in situ generated AgNPs, and fabrication of the PMMA/ZnO-Ag nanofibers for further PPE usage [Adapted with permission from (
Drug Encapsulation and Delivery
Electrospun drug-loaded fibers have shown great potential in drug delivery systems. They have several merits, such as the high surface area, tunable diameters and structures, good porosity, functionalization, and potential to encapsulate various active substances, making them suitable for drug loading and sustained release (
Material Sustainability
Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and protective suits, is expected to prevent and control SARS-CoV-2 attacks both effectively and efficiently (
Conclusion and Outlook
A virus is a biological particle at the nanoscale level, making detection and prevention challenging. To ensure efficient virus capture for the detection or effective protection, it typically requires that the materials used in such practices have structural features at nanoscale similar to the size of the virus. Electrospinning offers a convenient way to fabricate nanofibers with well-controlled structures and properties. Electrospun polymer nanofibers have been used to make virus-blocking platforms, such as PPE, showing great promise in preventing the spread of virus. However, some challenges remain, and more efforts are required. For example, rapid virus detection of high accuracy and a low price is needed. To achieve this goal, tailoring surface chemistry of materials for better virus capturing and developing cost-effective manufacturing methods to reduce the detection cost should be considered. Furthermore, the delivery of antiviral drugs can be integrated in the system with rational material designs to improve the therapeutic ability of electrospun polymer composites. Besides synthetic polymers, natural polymers such as silk and chitosan can also be used for making antiviral electrospun polymer composites since these natural polymers are biocompatible and the processing is generally environmentally friendly. Lastly, in terms of sustainability, developing reusable or recyclable electrospun polymer composites for antiviral protection is of great interest with respect to the economic costs and future environmental impacts.
Statements
Author contributions
JL, WW, RJ wrote the manuscript and CG conceived the idea of the study, supervised, and wrote the manuscript.
Funding
This work was supported by Foundation of Westlake University and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Award No. 52103129).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Footnotes
1.^https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-operational-update-on-covid-19---6-september-2021.
2.^https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/guidelines-clinical-specimens.html.
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Summary
Keywords
electrospun polymer composites, biomaterials, biomedical application, antiviral properties, COVID-19
Citation
Li J, Wang W, Jiang R and Guo C (2021) Antiviral Electrospun Polymer Composites: Recent Advances and Opportunities for Tackling COVID-19. Front. Mater. 8:773205. doi: 10.3389/fmats.2021.773205
Received
09 September 2021
Accepted
12 October 2021
Published
16 November 2021
Volume
8 - 2021
Edited by
Evie L. Papadopoulou, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Italy
Reviewed by
Peng-Cheng Ma, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Benjamin Tawiah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
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© 2021 Li, Wang, Jiang and Guo.
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*Correspondence: Chengchen Guo, guochengchen@westlake.edu.cn
This article was submitted to Polymeric and Composite Materials, a section of the journal Frontiers in Materials
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.