Evaluation of silver nanoparticles for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health workers: In vitro and in vivo

DOI record: { "DOI": "10.1371/journal.pone.0256401", "ISSN": [ "1932-6203" ], "URL": "http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256401", "abstract": "<jats:p>SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospital areas is of a particular concern, since the close interaction between health care personnel and patients diagnosed with COVID-19, which allows virus to be easily spread between them and subsequently to their families and communities. Preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare personnel is essential to reduce the frequency of infections and outbreaks during the pandemic considering that they work in high-risk areas. In this research, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were tested <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> and shown to have an inhibitory effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection in cultured cells. Subsequently, we assess the effects of mouthwash and nose rinse with ARGOVIT<jats:sup>®</jats:sup> silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 contagion in health workers consider as high-risk group of acquiring the infection in the General Tijuana Hospital, Mexico, a hospital for the exclusive recruitment of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. We present a prospective randomized study of 231 participants that was carried out for 9 weeks (during the declaration of a pandemic). The \"experimental\" group was instructed to do mouthwash and nose rinse with the AgNPs solution; the \"control\" group was instructed to do mouthwashes and nose rinse in a conventional way. The incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was significantly lower in the \"experimental\" group (two participants of 114, 1.8%) compared to the \"control\" group (thirty-three participants of 117, 28.2%), with an 84.8% efficiency. We conclude that the mouth and nasal rinse with AgNPs helps in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health personnel who are exposed to patients diagnosed with COVID-19.</jats:p>", "author": [ { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1874-3975", "affiliation": [], "authenticated-orcid": true, "family": "Almanza-Reyes", "given": "Horacio", "sequence": "first" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Moreno", "given": "Sandra", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Plascencia-López", "given": "Ismael", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Alvarado-Vera", "given": "Martha", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Patrón-Romero", "given": "Leslie", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Borrego", "given": "Belén", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Reyes-Escamilla", "given": "Alberto", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Valencia-Manzo", "given": "Daniel", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7865-538X", "affiliation": [], "authenticated-orcid": true, "family": "Brun", "given": "Alejandro", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9034-4733", "affiliation": [], "authenticated-orcid": true, "family": "Pestryakov", "given": "Alexey", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [], "family": "Bogdanchikova", "given": "Nina", "sequence": "additional" } ], "container-title": "PLOS ONE", "container-title-short": "PLoS ONE", "content-domain": { "crossmark-restriction": false, "domain": [ "www.plosone.org" ] }, "created": { "date-parts": [ [ 2021, 8, 19 ] ], "date-time": "2021-08-19T18:59:52Z", "timestamp": 1629399592000 }, "deposited": { "date-parts": [ [ 2021, 8, 19 ] ], "date-time": "2021-08-19T19:00:23Z", "timestamp": 1629399623000 }, "editor": [ { "affiliation": [], "family": "Hozbor", "given": "Daniela Flavia", "sequence": "first" } ], "funder": [ { "DOI": "10.13039/100012934", "award": [ "Development Program \"Priority 2030\"" ], "doi-asserted-by": "publisher", "id": [ { "asserted-by": "publisher", "id": "10.13039/100012934", "id-type": "DOI" } ], "name": "Tomsk Polytechnic University" } ], "indexed": { "date-parts": [ [ 2025, 5, 5 ] ], "date-time": "2025-05-05T19:31:44Z", "timestamp": 1746473504299, "version": "3.37.3" }, "is-referenced-by-count": 59, "issue": "8", "issued": { "date-parts": [ [ 2021, 8, 19 ] ] }, "journal-issue": { "issue": "8", "published-online": { "date-parts": [ [ 2021, 8, 19 ] ] } }, "language": "en", "license": [ { "URL": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "content-version": "vor", "delay-in-days": 0, "start": { "date-parts": [ [ 2021, 8, 19 ] ], "date-time": "2021-08-19T00:00:00Z", "timestamp": 1629331200000 } } ], "link": [ { "URL": "https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256401", "content-type": "unspecified", "content-version": "vor", "intended-application": "similarity-checking" } ], "member": "340", "original-title": [], "page": "e0256401", "prefix": "10.1371", "published": { "date-parts": [ [ 2021, 8, 19 ] ] }, "published-online": { "date-parts": [ [ 2021, 8, 19 ] ] }, "publisher": "Public Library of Science (PLoS)", "reference": [ { "key": "pone.0256401.ref001", "unstructured": "World Health Organization. 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