Conclusions
We have shown that the biomimetic nanoparticles incorporated with both ACE-2 membrane and quercetin showed the most antiviral activity and may be further explored for clinical application.
Methods
In this study, we employed PLGA nanoparticles to prepare nanoparticles encapsulated with quercetin, coated with ACE2-containing cell membranes, or encapsulated with quercetin and then coated with ACE-2-containing cell membranes. These nanoparticles were tested for their abilities to neutralize or inhibit viral infection.
Results
Our data showed that nanoparticles encapsulated with quercetin and then coated with ACE2-containing cell membrane inhibited the expression of AXL without causing cytotoxic activity. Nanoparticles incorporated with both quercetin and ACE2-containing cell membrane were found to be able to neutralize pseudo virus infection and were more effective than free quercetin and nanoparticles encapsulated with quercetin at inhibition of pseudo virus and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: We have shown that the biomimetic nanoparticles incorporated with both ACE-2 membrane and quercetin showed the most antiviral activity and may be further explored for clinical application.