Virus-like particles are employed by the scientists to predict how environmental factors affect the survival of the novel coronavirus on surfaces and that they found that the COVID-19 virus may remain infectious longer as temperatures drop during the winter.
According to the study, published in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, virus-like particles, or VLPs, “faithfully mimic the external structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
The researchers from the University of Utah in the US said the VLPs are empty shells made from an equivalent lipids and three sorts of proteins as present in a lively SARS-CoV-2 virus, but without its genetic material RNA that causes infections.
They wrote in the study that, “The VLPs however, possess no genome and thus present no infectious threat which enables rapid studies with reduced safety requirements.”
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The Test Done Both Under Dry And Humid Conditions
In the current research, the scientists tested the virus-like particles on glass surfaces under both dry and humid conditions.
The researchers explained that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is usually spread when an infected person ejects droplets of small mucus-laden aerosols from the lungs via sneezing, coughing, or exhaling sharply.
They said these droplets have a high surface to volume ratio and tends to dry out quickly hence both wet and dry virus particles inherit contact with a surface and travel directly into a replacement host.
How Does The Structure Of The Virus Change?
Using advanced microscopy techniques, the researchers observed how the structure of the VLPs changed under these changing conditions.
They exposed VLP samples to varied temperatures under two conditions — one with the particles inside a liquid solution , and the second when the particles dried out.
The scientists have found that elevating the temperature to about 93 degrees Fahrenheit for half-hour degraded the outer structure in both liquid and bare conditions.
According to the researchers, the effect was stronger on the dry particles than on the liquid-protected ones.
In contrast, they said particles in temperature conditions or outside in cooler weather may remain infectious for far longer.
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Humidity And Its Affect On The Virus Particles
While humidity likely affected how far the virus particles in cough and sneeze aerosols traveled within the air before they dried out, the researchers saw little or no influence of humidity on the survival of the VLPs on surfaces.
“When it involves fighting the spread of this virus, you quite need to fight every particle individually. Only then you would like to know what makes each individual particle degrade,” explained Michael Vershinin, co-author of the study from the University of Utah.
“What’s surprising is how little heat was needed to interrupt them down–surfaces that are consider the touch, but not hot. The packaging of this virus is extremely sensitive to temperature,” Vershinin added.
In order to stay contagious, the scientists said the SARS-CoV-2 membrane needs a selected web of proteins arranged during a particular order.
When that structure falls apart, they said it becomes less infectious, suggesting that as temperatures begin to drop by winter, particles on surfaces could remain infectious longer.