International Journal of Nanomedicine (Feb 2022)
Coronavirus and Carbon Nanotubes: Seeking Immunological Relationships to Discover Immunotherapeutic Possibilities
Abstract
Elidamar Nunes de Carvalho Lima,1– 3 Ana Luiza Moraes Octaviano,1 José Roberto Castilho Piqueira,1 Ricardo Sobhie Diaz,2 João Francisco Justo3 1Telecommunication and Control Engineering Department, Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 2Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 3Electronic Systems Engineering Department, Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-010, BrazilCorrespondence: Elidamar Nunes de Carvalho Lima, Telecommunication and Control Engineering Department, Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, Avenida Prof. Luciano Gualberto – travessa 3 – 158, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-010, Brazil, Tel +55 11 3091-5647 ; +55 11 96326-5550, Email [email protected]: Since December 2019, the world has faced an unprecedented pandemic crisis due to a new coronavirus disease, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), which has instigated intensive studies on prevention and treatment possibilities. Here, we investigate the relationships between the immune activation induced by three coronaviruses associated with recent outbreaks, with special attention to SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, and the immune activation induced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to understand the points of convergence in immune induction and modulation. Evidence suggests that CNTs are among the most promising materials for use as immunotherapeutic agents. Therefore, this investigation explores new possibilities of effective immunotherapies for COVID-19. This study aimed to raise interest and knowledge about the use of CNTs as immunotherapeutic agents in coronavirus treatment. Thus, we summarize the most important immunological aspects of various coronavirus infections and describe key advances and challenges in using CNTs as immunotherapeutic agents against viral infections and the activation of the immune response induced by CNTs, which can shed light on the immunotherapeutic possibilities of CNTs.Keywords: coronavirus, carbon nanotubes, immunotherapy, immunomodulation
