A Preliminary Assessment of Silver Nanoparticle Inhibition of Monkeypox Virus Plaque Formation

• Published in: Nanoscale research letters 2008-04, Vol.3 (4), p.129-133
• Main Authors: Rogers, James, Parkinson, Christopher, Choi, Young, Speshock, Janice, Hussain, Saber
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-viral therapeutic; Monkeypox virus; Nanoparticle; Plaque reduction assay; Silver
• ISSN: 1556-276X; 1931-7573; 1556-276X
• DOI: 10.1186/1556-276X-3-129

The use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in medical research is growing. Silver-containing nanoparticles have previously demonstrated antimicrobial efficacy against bacteria and viral particles. This preliminary study utilized an in vitro approach to evaluate the ability of silver-based nanoparticles to inhibit infectivity of the biological select agent, monkeypox virus (MPV). Nanoparticles (10-80 nm, with or without polysaccharide coating), or silver nitrate (AgNO3) at concentrations of 100, 50, 25, and 12.5 μg/mL were evaluated for efficacy using a plaque reduction assay. Both Ag-PS-25 (polysaccharide-coated, 25 nm) and Ag-NP-55 (non-coated, 55 nm) exhibited a significant (P ≤ 0.05) dose-dependent effect of test compound concentration on the mean number of plaque-forming units (PFU). All concentrations of silver nitrate (except 100 μg/mL) and Ag-PS-10 promoted significant (P ≤ 0.05) decreases in the number of observed PFU compared to untreated controls. Some nanoparticle treatments led to increased MPV PFU ranging from 1.04- to 1.8-fold above controls. No cytotoxicity (Vero cell monolayer sloughing) was caused by any test compound, except 100 μg/mL AgNO3. These results demonstrate that silver-based nanoparticles of approximately 10 nm inhibit MPV infection in vitro, supporting their potential use as an anti-viral therapeutic.