Current perspectives on the development of virucidal nano surfaces

Due to the high density of human populations within enclosed spaces, respiratory viruses are mainly transmitted via airborne aerosols; however, they can also be transmitted via indirect contact when a respiratory droplet containing a viral load contaminates a smooth surface, on which some viruses have long survivability. In this perspective, we outline recent developments of antiviral surfaces to combat the surface transmission of viruses. Numerous technologies already exist for the development of antibacterial surfaces that have the potential to be extended toward the development of antiviral surfaces. We overview the potential to utilise nanostructured surfaces for the physical inactivation of virus particles. However, there remains a limited number of suitable nanofabrication approaches and a lack of understanding of the nature of efficient virucidal surfaces.