Ultraviolet dosage and decontamination efficacy were widely variable across 14 UV devices after testing a dried enveloped ribonucleic acid virus surrogate for SARS-CoV-2.

Aims: The dosages and efficacy of 14 ultraviolet (UV) decontamination technologies were measured against a SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus that was dried onto different materials for laboratory and field testing. Methods and results: A live enveloped, ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 was dried on stainless steel 304 (SS304), Navy Top Coat-painted SS304 (NTC), cardboard, polyurethane, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) materials at > 8.0 log10 plaque-forming units (PFU) per test coupon. The coupons were then exposed to UV radiation during both laboratory and field testing. Commercial and prototype UV-emitting devices were measured for efficacy: four handheld devices, three room/surface-disinfecting machines, five air disinfection devices, and two larger custom-made machines. UV device dosages ranged from 0.01 to 729 mJ cm-2. The antiviral efficacy among the different UV devices ranged from no decontamination up to nearly achieving sterilization. Importantly, cardboard required far greater dosage than SS304. Conclusion: Enormous variability in dosage and efficacy was measured among the different UV devices. Porous materials limit the utility of UV decontamination. Significance and impact of the study: UV devices have wide variability in dosages, efficacy, hazards, and UV output over time, indicating that each UV device needs independent technical measurement and assessment for product development prior to and during use.

A Virus-Like Particle-Based Vaccine Candidate against the Tick-Borne Powassan Virus Induces Neutralizing Antibodies in a Mouse Model.

Powassan virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flavivirus circulating in North America and the Russian Far East that can cause severe neuroinvasive diseases, including encephalitis, meningitis, and meningoencephalitis. The reported neuroinvasive case fatality is about 10%, and approximately 50% of the survivors from the neuroinfection exhibit long-lasting or permanent neurological sequelae. Currently, treatment of POWV infection is supportive, and no FDA-approved vaccines or specific therapeutics are available. A novel Powassan vaccine candidate was created using virus-like particle technology (POW-VLP) and assembled with the viral structural proteins pre-Membrane (prM) and Envelope (E). Western blot immunoassay demonstrated high antigenicity of POW-VLP structural proteins. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the POW-VLP exhibited icosahedral morphology typical of flaviviruses. A dose-escalation study in a murine model was performed to test immunogenicity and safety. Serum antibody was tested by ELISA, demonstrating that POW-VLP afforded 100% seroconversion to the E protein. Reporter viral-particle neutralization assay demonstrated high levels of neutralizing antibodies in the serum of immunized mice. Hybridomas expressing monoclonal antibodies were produced following POW-VLP immunization. The POW-VLP vaccine candidate created in this study provides a strategy for inducing protective antibodies against Powassan neuroinvasive infection.

Synthesis of a superparamagnetic iron oxide based nano-complex for targeted cell death of glioblastoma cells.

In the last ten years, there has been little advancement in the treatment of the aggressive brain cancer Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). This research describes the synthesis of a superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPION)-based nanotheraputic complex for use in targeting and killing aggressive mesenchymal GBM cells. The average sizes and magnetic properties of the synthesized SPIONs are tailored via a novel time-controlled approach to a previously described electrochemical reaction. Through this synthetic method, the optimal particle size where maximal thermal energy is released upon stimulation with an external magnetic field was determined to be 21 nm. The nano-complex was further modified to selectively target GBM cells by adding a heterobifunctional poly(ethylene) glycol polymer crosslinked to TWEAK (a GBM targeting peptide). Preliminary investigation with FITC Annexin V/propidium iodide fluorescent probes and transmission electron microscopy revealed biochemical and morphological evidence of both SPION internalization and cytotoxic effects over the course of three hours. Thus, these nano-complexes hold promise as a potential treatment agent for an otherwise untreatable disease.