Nanotechnology vs. viruses—researchers introduce innovative and cost-effective antiviral compound

An international interdisciplinary team of virologists and biochemists that includes scientists at Freie Universität has developed low-cost and "cell-friendly" nanogels that can efficiently prevent viral infections. The flexible nanogels mimic cell surface receptors where several viral families bind. Pathogens adhere to the nanogel molecules, so the likelihood of an infection of cells decreases significantly. The researchers in the project are based at the Potsdam Institute of Biochemistry and Biology and the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science as well as the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Center for Infection Medicine, both at Freie Universität. The interdisciplinary cooperation was funded through the Collaborative Research Center 765 of Freie Universität and the German Research Foundation (DFG). The research findings were published online on ACS Nano.