Low Dose of Ti₃C₂ MXene Quantum Dots Mitigate SARS-CoV-2 Infection

MXene QDs (MQDs) have been effectively used in several fields of biomedical research. Considering the role of hyperactivation of immune system in infectious diseases, especially in COVID-19, MQDs stand as a potential candidate as a nanotherapeutic against viral infections. However, the efficacy of MQDs against SARS-CoV-2 infection has not been tested yet. In this study, Ti₃C₂ MQDs are synthesized and their potential in mitigating SARS-CoV-2 infection is investigated. Physicochemical characterization suggests that MQDs are enriched with abundance of bioactive functional groups such as oxygen, hydrogen, fluorine, and chlorine groups as well as surface titanium oxides. The efficacy of MQDs is tested in VeroE6 cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. These data demonstrate that the treatment with MQDs is able to mitigate multiplication of virus particles, only at very low doses such as 0,15 µg mL⁻¹. Furthermore, to understand the mechanisms of MQD-mediated anti-COVID properties, global proteomics analysis are performed and determined differentially expressed proteins between MQD-treated and untreated cells. Data reveal that MQDs interfere with the viral life cycle through different mechanisms including the Ca²⁺ signaling pathway, IFN-α response, virus internalization, replication, and translation. These findings suggest that MQDs can be employed to develop future immunoengineering-based nanotherapeutics strategies against SARS-CoV-2 and other viral infections.