Silver Nanoparticles Inhibit Hepatitis B Virus Replication
In this study, published in the journal Antiviral Therapy in 2008, researchers from the Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, demonstrated the silver nanoparticles could be used to inhibit the replication of hepatitis B virus due to the ability to bind with the viral DNA.
According to the study authors, “Silver nanoparticles have been shown to exhibit promising cytoprotective activities towards HIV-infected T-cells; however, the effects of these nanoparticles towards other kinds of viruses remain largely unexplored. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of silver nanoparticles on hepatitis B virus (HBV)…. The in vitro anti-HBV activities of these particles were determined using the HepAD38 cell line as infection model… an absorption titration assay showed that the nanoparticles have good binding affinity for HBV DNA… we found that Ag10Ns could directly interact with the HBV viral particles as revealed by transmission electronic microscopy.”
The study authors concluded, “Silver nanoparticles could inhibit the in vitro production of HBV RNA and extracellular virions. We hypothesize that the direct interaction between these nanoparticles and HBV double-stranded DNA or viral particles is responsible for their antiviral mechanism.”