title: Functionalized Surfaces with Tailored Wettability Determine Influenza A Infectivity.
abstract: Surfaces contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms contribute to their transmission and spreading. The development of "active surfaces" that can reduce or eliminate this contamination necessitates a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms of interactions between the surfaces and the microorganisms. Few studies have shown that, among the different surface characteristics, the wetting properties play an important role in reducing virus infectivity. Here, we systematically tailored the wetting characteristics of flat and nanostructured glass surfaces by functionalizing them with alkyl- and fluoro-silanes. We studied the effects of these functionalized surfaces on the infectivity of Influenza A viruses using a number of experimental and computational methods including real-time fluorescence microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Overall, we show that surfaces that are simultaneously hydrophobic and oleophilic are more efficient in deactivating enveloped viruses. Our results suggest that the deactivation mechanism likely involves disruption of the viral membrane upon its contact with the alkyl chains. Moreover, enhancing these specific wetting characteristics by surface nanostructuring led to an increased deactivation of viruses. These combined features make these substrates highly promising for applications in hospitals and similar infrastructures where antiviral surfaces can be crucial.
authors.affiliation: ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mannelli
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reigada
authors.affiliation: ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Suárez
authors.affiliation: ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Janner
authors.affiliation: ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carrilero
authors.affiliation: Corning Incorporated , Sullivan Park, Corning, New York 14831, United States.
authors.forename: Prantik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mazumder
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sagués
authors.affiliation: ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain.|ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats , Passeig Lluís Companys, 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pruneri
authors.affiliation: ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Melike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lakadamyali
mesh_terms: D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D049329:Nanostructures; D013499:Surface Properties; D038301:Virus Inactivation; D017155:Wettability
keywords: coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations; fluorescence microscopy; hydrophobic and oleophilic surfaces; influenza A; nanostructured substrates; wettability