The widespread of viral airborne diseases is becoming a critical problem for human health and safety, not only for the common cold and flu, but also considering more serious infection as the current pandemic COVID-19. Even if the current heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems limit the disease transmission by air, the air filters are susceptible to microbial colonization. In addition, viruses spread via droplets (aerosol) produced by direct or indirect contact with infected people. In this context, the necessity of an efficient HVAC system, able to capture and inactivate viruses- and bacteria-rich aerosols, thus preserving a safe indoor air environment and protecting people, is of enormous importance. The aim of this work is the assessment of the antiviral properties of a silver nanoclusters/silica composite coating deposited via co-sputtering technique on glass, on metallic fibre-based air filters as well as on cotton textiles. The selected human respiratory viruses are: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the human rhinovirus (HRV) and the influenza virus type A (FluVA). The coated air filters show that the nanostructured coating develops a strong virucidal activity against RSV and FluVA, but not against the HRV.

病毒性空气传播疾病的广泛传播正在成为人类健康和安全的关键问题，不仅是普通感冒和流感，还包括更严重的感染，如当前大流行的 COVID-19。即使当前的供暖、通风和空调 (HVAC) 系统限制了空气传播疾病，空气过滤器也容易受到微生物定植的影响。此外，病毒通过与感染者直接或间接接触产生的飞沫（气溶胶）传播。在这种情况下，能够捕获和灭活富含病毒和细菌的气溶胶，从而保持安全的室内空气环境并保护人们的高效 HVAC 系统的必要性非常重要。这项工作的目的是评估通过共溅射技术沉积在玻璃、基于金属纤维的空气过滤器以及棉纺织品上的银纳米团簇/二氧化硅复合涂层的抗病毒特性。选定的人类呼吸道病毒是：呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)、人鼻病毒(HRV) 和甲型流感病毒 (FluVA)。涂层空气过滤器表明，纳米结构涂层对 RSV 和 FluVA 具有很强的杀病毒活性，但对 HRV 没有。