Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 virus with MOF-composites as smart face masks

The significant impact of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak on people's lives has highlighted the urgent need for effective personal protective equipment. To improve the limited protection of existing surgical face masks, the fabrication of face masks containing porous metal–organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles is proposed. Utilizing low toxicity MOFs, such as Al-Fumarate and HKUST-1(Cu), allows i) the modification of their external surface with active moieties to specifically bind on proteins or virus surfaces, such as the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; ii) the adsorption of large amounts of water in their pores, enabling them to dehydrate virus aerosols; and iii) the preparation of MOF-based composites, providing good breathability. To ensure optimal binding, the MOFs are grown in situ on the fabric and then functionalized with test antiviral agents. Carefully evaluating their protein binding performance with bovine albumin serum (BSA) shows a ten-fold higher binding of proteins than surgical face masks. Further plaque assays with a SARS-CoV-2 virus with an incubation period of 30 min verifies the great potential of MOF-composites to effectively reduce the recovered viable SARS-CoV-2 particles up to 99%. Consequently, the smart MOF-composites represent an elegant and innovative approach to effectively combat airborne viruses and reduce their spread.