Possible Prevention of COVID 19 by Using Linoleic Acid (C18) Rich Algae Oil

With the rapid spread of COVID 19, people are being isolated in countries, and more than lakhs of people have been infecting by the coronavirus. The coronavirus is an airborne organism and highly infectious at short contact distances. The use of N95 respirators masks (high-efficiency) can protect people against the COVID 19, but the protective efficiency of masks is not high enough. A method of applying oil with rich amounts of linoleic acid in nostrils can prevent the spread of the virus. Macroalgal secondary metabolites have great potential for the development of new drugs and algae derived products largely employed in assorted industries, including agricultural, biomedical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Among different chemical components isolated from algae, oil components are the most attracting more and which were subjected to a variety of studies (antiviral potential of algae in pharmaceutical research). Algal oil and their components like linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid are playing a preventive role in the virus infection. In addition, different mechanisms of action have been reported for these linoleic acid (C18H32O2) components, such as inhibiting the binding virus into the host cells or suppressing virulence activity by destabilization of the bilayer of viral envelopes. Application of in controlling the virus entry is mainly depend on the properties like low surface tension, high-boiling point, high viscosity, immiscible with water and antivirus activity. This manuscript mainly discusses the possible physical-chemical mechanisms involved in the application of algal oil and other sources of oils component's role in prevention of viral spread. Among that we listed out various oil sources and their applications in controlling the virus activity. Further confirmed experimental and clinical results for the use of oils as nasal spray may finally contribute to preventing the spread of the coronavirus as soon as possible

Marine Algae as a Natural Source for Antiviral Compounds

Coronavirus or COVID-19 is started from the China, Wuhan city in December 2019 and soon later, spread around 190 countries and declared as pandemic on March 11, 2020 by WHO. Healthcare systems all over the world are fighting against this pandemic. Most of the countries are lockdown for uncertain periods to protect their people from this pandemic as a result the world economy is struggling to cope up with the current situation. Several countries have conducted research studies to produce vaccine or antiviral drug but there is still no specific solution for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 infection in general. Along with other treatment methods, many countries are fuelling their demand for antiviral compounds from natural resources due to coronavirus. Microalgae and cyanobacteria are excellent source of antiviral activity. Several cyclic or linear peptides and depsipeptides isolated from cyanobacteria are protease inhibitors, which is considered as significant antiviral candidate. Micro and macroalgae were one of the first sources of natural compounds showing in vitro anti-HIV activity. Numerous in vitro or in vivo studies has shown the potential of algae against wild range of viruses. The use of natural products in the manufacturing of drugs is an ancient and well-established practice. Marine microorganisms are known producers of pharmacological and anti-viral agents and may provide unlimited biological resources to produce therapeutic drugs for the treatment and control of viral diseases in humans. Our major intention to write this review to bring world’s attention in terms of public health and public policy practices across the world to grab an opportunity from this known healthcare practices, and conventional platform to produce vaccine or antiviral medicine to overcome COID-19

Nanoparticle Cloaking of Viral Vectors for Enhanced Gene Delivery

Gene therapy has the potential to treat a wide range of diseases and ailments from cancer to blindness by altering or overcoming disease at its genetic roots. This is accomplished by adding or alternating genetic information of diseased tissue or at a distant site for systemic treatment. Genetically modified viruses are the most efficient tools for delivery of genes, but have significant side effects that have limited the success of clinical trials. Adenovirus (Ad) is a DNA virus that has been tested in over 100 clinical trials and is the focus of this dissertation. Innate and adaptive immune responses, hepatic clearance, and cellular tropism are the primary causes of poor Ad clinical translation. Cloaking technologies using synthetic or biologic materials have the potential to overcome these issues. Chapter 2 & 3 describes a method to address clinical barriers by encapsulating Ad in silica as a nanoparticle formulation. Silica is biodegradeable, biocompatible, and used in variety of nanoparticle formulations to enhance drug delivery. Silica encapsulated Ad (SiAd) enhances transduction and expands tropism in vitro. In immune-compromised mice, SiAd enhanced tumor transduction while reducing liver uptake and in immune-competent mice, SiAd reduced both the innate and adaptive immune response against Ad. As a model for cancer gene therapy, we used Ad expressing TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and show inhibited tumor growth with SiAd-TRAIL. In chapter 4, we explore applying the concepts of the previous chapters to Adeno-associated virus (AAV), which is another viral vector gaining traction for gene therapy in the clinic and one that is subject to similar barriers to clinical success as Ad. We explore exosome membrane cloaking and silica cloaking as methods to enhance AAV transduction in vitro. Overall, this dissertation covers techniques that seek to merge the efficiency of viral gene expression with the versatility of nanoparticle technology to address clinical challenges in the field of gene therapy

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using high-throughput PCR

During an epidemic identification of infected individuals, quarantining them, and thereby protecting healthy individuals from infection will not only help to flatten the curve but will also help medical professional to treat the epidemic efficiently. Countries with high-density population require sensitive and accurate screening method, which could be done without a sophisticated laboratory, broadens the scope of control and surveillance. High-throughput screening method without expensive instrumentation is the desirable. For the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic qRTPCR emerges as a gold standard for identification of infection, however, infrastructure required for this assay is at high-demand and not abundant. Therefore, we proposed a high-throughput PCR based sensitive method which provides an opportunity to facilitate detection of virus without sophisticated diagnostic infrastructur