With low electrical voltage against corona viruses

For the corona virus, the so-called spike protein on its outer envelope is essential for it to be able to infect a cell. This protein binds specifically to a receptor called ACE2 on the surface of human cells. The virus can then fuse with the cell membrane, release its genetic material into the cell interior and continue to replicate. This is why the spike protein is a target for therapies and vaccinations. A research team led by Prof. Dr. Martin Garcia of the University of Kassel has developed a new approach for a purely physical method to render the virus harmless. "Our computer simulations show that the spike protein is highly susceptible to electric fields of moderate strength, which can be generated using a simple battery. In fact, it is more than a thousand times more sensitive than other proteins," explains Prof. Garcia.

The theory: Structural changes caused by electrical pulses.

This is because 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 pulses force the spike protein to change its structure at the atomic level, permanently. Then the receptor-binding domain can no longer dock with the human cell's ACE2 receptor," Prof. Garcia describes. In computer simulations, this change could be predicted not only for the wild type of the virus, but also for more infectious variants such as alpha (B.1.1.7), beta (B.1.351) and the gamma variant P.1. "Surprisingly, the structural change of the spike protein due to the mutation makes the virus more infectious, but at the same time it increases its vulnerability to electric fields," reports Prof. Garcia. Electric fields as low as 0.0001 volts/nanometer cause structural damage to the protein. Other proteins, including those of healthy cells, are not damaged by this, as they only react to much higher field strengths with structural changes.

From theory to practice

The inactivation of corona viruses described in the model using electric fields could also be used in practice as a purely physical method for inactivating viruses. For example, it could enable a new class of air filtration systems in the future. The existing infrastructure of air filtration systems could be used for this purpose. The so-called HEPA filters would simply have to be replaced by a microstructured array of electrodes connected to low voltage that inactivate the corona viruses.  The filtered air would then contain only harmless viruses and could be reintroduced into the room. Advantages over conventional HEPA filters would include lower energy consumption and a much longer useful life. The University of Kassel has already filed a patent for a technological application of its theoretically developed method.

This work by Prof. Garcia's group with Claudia R. Arbeitmann, Pablo Rojas and Pedro Ojeda-May was partially funded by the University of Kassel through the PhosMOrg project.

More information:

The article The SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein is vulnerable to moderate electric fields was published in the journal Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25478-7

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Martin E. Garcia
University of Kassel
Department 10 Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Phone: +49 561 804-4480
Email: garcia[at]physik.uni-kassel[dot]de

Press contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Phone: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de