Abstract: Wiley
Biochemistry Research International
Volume 2025, Article ID 8846903, 13 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/bri/8846903
Review Article
Nitric Oxide in the Treatment of COVID-19: Nasal Sprays,
Inhalants and Nanoparticles
Amarley Wright ,1 Donovan McGrowder ,2 and Sophia Bryan
1
1
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Biochemistry Section, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Te University of the West Indies,
Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
2
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Te University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Correspondence should be addressed to Sophia Bryan; sophia.bryan04@uwimona.edu.jm
Received 28 May 2023; Revised 7 June 2023; Accepted 11 August 2025
Academic Editor: Harleen Khatra
Copyright © 2025 Amarley Wright et al. Biochemistry Research International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Tis is an open
access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Although the World Health Organization has declared that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is not a public health emergency
of international concern anymore, it has negatively impacted the world, and efective treatment for this pandemic remains a major
priority. Vaccine efectiveness has been a matter of concern given the evolution of variants and subvariants of the severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Tus, continued protection against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants is still
necessary and could work alone or in parallel with vaccinations to treat COVID-19 in the future. Further, fndings from in vitro
and in vivo studies have noted the efectiveness of high dosages of nitric oxide (NO) as an antimicrobial agent against respiratory
pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. NO has been previously utilized in the management of SARS-CoV and has shown
a similar antiviral efect with SARS-CoV-2 in vivo and in vitro. Efective therapy with NO can be used to target several stages of
COVID-19 infection to prevent transmission and progression of the disease. Te unique properties of NO allow this simple,
gaseous molecule to be administered in various forms. NO can be used as an inhalant, in the form of NO donor drugs such as Snitrosothiols and more recently as NO-releasing nanoparticles (NO-nps). Tis review summarizes the bioavailability of NO in
COVID-19 patients and highlights in vivo and in vitro studies as well as clinical trials with NO administered as a nasal spray,
inhalant, or via nanodelivery for therapeutic applications for COVID-19 and other respiratory infections in the future.
Keywords: antimicrobial efect; COVID-19; inhaled nitric oxide; nanoparticles; nitric oxide
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"abstract": "<jats:p>Although the World Health Organization has declared that the coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) is not a public health emergency of international concern anymore, it has negatively impacted the world, and effective treatment for this pandemic remains a major priority. Vaccine effectiveness has been a matter of concern given the evolution of variants and subvariants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). Thus, continued protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 and its variants is still necessary and could work alone or in parallel with vaccinations to treat COVID‐19 in the future. Further, findings from in vitro and in vivo studies have noted the effectiveness of high dosages of nitric oxide (NO) as an antimicrobial agent against respiratory pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. NO has been previously utilized in the management of SARS‐CoV and has shown a similar antiviral effect with SARS‐CoV‐2 in vivo and in vitro. Effective therapy with NO can be used to target several stages of COVID‐19 infection to prevent transmission and progression of the disease. The unique properties of NO allow this simple, gaseous molecule to be administered in various forms. NO can be used as an inhalant, in the form of NO donor drugs such as S‐nitrosothiols and more recently as NO‐releasing nanoparticles (NO‐nps). This review summarizes the bioavailability of NO in COVID‐19 patients and highlights in vivo and in vitro studies as well as clinical trials with NO administered as a nasal spray, inhalant, or via nanodelivery for therapeutic applications for COVID‐19 and other respiratory infections in the future.</jats:p>",
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