Scientists from the University of Kassel have developed a new technique to inactivate the coronavirus. This requires weak electrical impulses. The technology could even be built into air filters. The coronavirus uses the so-called spike protein to attack human cells. It is located on its outer shell and specifically binds to the ACE2 receptor on the surface of human cells. This allows the virus to fuse with the human cell membrane and channel its genetic material inside the cell, where it continues to multiply. For this reason, the spike protein is a point of attack for corona therapies and vaccinations.
The German research team led by Martin Garcia at the University of Kassel is also dedicating its new approach to this protein. The scientists have now developed a method to render the virus harmless – using electrical voltage. “Our computer simulations show that the spike protein is very susceptible to moderate electrical fields that can be generated with the help of a simple battery. It is even more than a thousand times more sensitive than other proteins, ”explains study leader Garcia. The scientists have now published the results in the journal Nature.
Structural changes in the spike protein caused by electrical impulses
The binding between the spike protein and the ACE2 receptor is very specific and depends on the detailed structure of the two proteins. A small part of the spike protein, the receptor binding domain, fits the ACE receptor like a key to a lock. “Moderate to weak electrical impulses force the spike protein to change its structure at the atomic level, and do so permanently. Then the receptor binding domain can no longer dock to the ACE2 receptor of the human cell, ”says Garcia.
In computer simulations, his team could have predicted this change not only for the wild type of the virus, but also for more contagious variants such as alpha (B.1.1.7), beta (B.1.351) and the gamma variant P.1. “Surprisingly, the structural change in the spike protein caused by the mutation makes the virus more contagious, but at the same time it increases its vulnerability to electrical fields.” According to this, electrical fields of 0.0001 volts / nanometer already caused structural damage to the protein. Other proteins, including those from healthy cells, would not be damaged as a result, as they only reacted to much higher field strengths with structural changes.
To prevent Covid cases: Researchers are planning to use them in air filters
According to the researchers, the inactivation of corona viruses described in the model with the help of electrical fields could also be used in practice. For example, it could enable a new class of air filter systems in the future. The existing infrastructure of the air filter systems could be used for this. The so-called Hepa filters would only have to be replaced by a microstructured arrangement of electrodes connected to low voltage, which inactivated the corona viruses. The filtered air then only contains harmless viruses and can be fed back into the room.
