Bio-inspired virus imprinted polymer for prevention of viral infections

A novel virus-imprinted polymer for prevention of viral infection was prepared by anchoring molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on the surface of poly-dopamine (PDA)-coated silica particles. The imprinting reaction was carried out via self-polymerization of dopamine in the presence of a virus template. Plaque forming assay indicated that the MIP exhibited selective anti-viral infection properties for the template virus in complex media containing different interfering substances, and even other types of viruses. Remarkable dose-dependent and time-dependent inhibition of virus infection was observed due to the MIP’s selective binding to the template virus. When the MIP was incubated with the virus and host cells together, rapid and selective adsorption of template viruses by the MIP prevented the viruses to infect the host cells in a period of 12h. The MIP was biocompatible and non-toxic, and had excellent stability and reusability. Furthermore, the MIPs prepared using different viruses as templates showed similar anti-viral infection properties. The MIP synthesized using dopamine as monomer and crude virus as template provided an attractive possibility for clinical applications in the field of antiviral therapy.