At the end of 2019 reports started to surface of a novel viral infection that has become known as SARSCoV-2 (causing the infection COVID-19) and was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Countries around the world have utilised a range of measures to face this pandemic and although each country has their own unique approach, it has typically included periods of self-isolation or quarantine to help limit both the spread of the virus and the burden on health care systems. During these periods of self-isolation, many have been asking themselves what they can do to help. There have been some uplifting reports of everyone pulling together to do their part, whether that is breweries, distilleries or perfume manufacturers making hand sanitiser, [4] or collaborative teams of engineers and scientists working together to produce and redesign ventilators [2]. But what could a materials chemist do to help? Viruses are often thought of as being a problem to be resolved by biologists and biochemists, yet in reality, there are many crossovers with chemistry and materials, ready to be exploited [11]. Viruses are intracellular parasites with a very simple structure. They lack their own metabolism and require a host to replicate, so are (debatably) not living [8]. Instead viruses can be thought of as selfassembled nanostructures, typically comprised of proteins, genetic material, and often a lipid membrane. Prof. Palli Thordarson (Department of Chemistry, The University of New South Wales (UNSW)) recently highlighted this in a Twitter thread [13], showing why it is so important to use soap when washing your hands to destroy viruses like SARSCoV-2. The key characteristic behind why soap is so effective is linked directly to the fact that viruses are self-assembled structures. Their lipid membranes are comprised of fatty acids with hydrophobic interactions between chains, leading to a stable outer membrane. When you introduce soap into the mixture these hydrophobic interactions are disrupted and the lipid membrane is ‘dissolved’, destroying or deactivating the virus. Materials capable of destroying a virus in such a way are termed virucidal (Fig. 1) and there are many examples: bleach, alcohol and, as

中文翻译：

---

材料如何战胜病毒

2019 年底，一种新型病毒感染开始浮出水面，这种感染已被称为 SARSCoV-2（导致感染 COVID-19），并于 2020 年 3 月被世界卫生组织 (WHO) 列为大流行病。世界已经采取了一系列措施来应对这一流行病，尽管每个国家都有自己独特的方法，但通常包括自我隔离或隔离期，以帮助限制病毒的传播和医疗保健系统的负担。在这些自我隔离期间，许多人一直在问自己能做些什么来提供帮助。有一些令人振奋的报道称，每个人都齐心协力尽自己的一份力，无论是啤酒厂、酿酒厂还是香水制造商制造洗手液，[4] 或工程师和科学家的协作团队共同生产和重新设计呼吸机 [2]。但是材料化学家能做些什么来提供帮助呢？病毒通常被认为是生物学家和生物化学家需要解决的问题，但实际上，有许多化学和材料的交叉点可供利用 [11]。病毒是结构非常简单的细胞内寄生虫。它们缺乏自己的新陈代谢，需要宿主进行复制，因此（有争议地）没有生命[8]。相反，病毒可以被认为是自组装的纳米结构，通常由蛋白质、遗传物质和脂质膜组成。Palli Thordarson 教授（新南威尔士大学 (UNSW) 化学系）最近在 Twitter 线程中强调了这一点 [13]，说明为什么洗手时使用肥皂来消灭 SARSCoV-2 等病毒如此重要。肥皂为何如此有效的关键特征与病毒是自组装结构这一事实直接相关。它们的脂质膜由脂肪酸组成，链之间具有疏水相互作用，从而形成稳定的外膜。当您将肥皂加入混合物中时，这些疏水相互作用被破坏，脂质膜被“溶解”，从而破坏或灭活病毒。能够以这种方式破坏病毒的材料被称为杀病毒材料（图 1），有很多例子：漂白剂、酒精和 它们的脂质膜由脂肪酸组成，链之间具有疏水相互作用，从而形成稳定的外膜。当您将肥皂加入混合物中时，这些疏水相互作用被破坏，脂质膜被“溶解”，从而破坏或灭活病毒。能够以这种方式破坏病毒的材料被称为杀病毒材料（图 1），有很多例子：漂白剂、酒精和 它们的脂质膜由脂肪酸组成，链之间具有疏水相互作用，从而形成稳定的外膜。当您将肥皂加入混合物中时，这些疏水相互作用被破坏，脂质膜被“溶解”，从而破坏或灭活病毒。能够以这种方式破坏病毒的材料被称为杀病毒材料（图 1），有很多例子：漂白剂、酒精和