Surface Inactivation of Highly Mutated SARS-CoV‑2 Variants of Concern: Alpha, Delta, and Omicron

Continued SARS-CoV-2 transmission among the human population
has
meant the evolution of the virus to produce variants of increased
infectiousness and virulence, coined variants of concern (VOCs). The
last wave of pandemic infections was driven predominantly by the delta
VOC, but because of continued transmission and adaptive mutations,
the more highly transmissible omicron variant emerged and is now dominant.
However, due to waning immunity and emergence of new variants, vaccines
alone cannot control the pandemic. The application of an antiviral
coating to high-touch surfaces and physical barriers such as masks
are an effective means to inactivate the virus and their spread. Here,
we demonstrate an environmentally friendly water-borne polymer coating
that can completely inactivate SARS-CoV-2 independent of the infectious
variant. The polymer was designed to target the highly glycosylated
spike protein on the virion surface and inactivate the virion by disruption
of the viral membrane through a nano-mechanical process. Our findings
show that, even with low amounts of coating on the surface (1 g/m2), inactivation of alpha, delta, and omicron VOCs and degradation
of their viral genome were complete. Furthermore, our data shows that
the polymer induces little to no skin sensitization in mice and is
non-toxic upon oral ingestion in rats. We anticipate that our transparent
polymer coating can be applied to face masks and many other surfaces
to capture and inactivate the virus, aiding in the reduction of SARS-CoV-2
transmission and evolution of new variants of concern.