Silver Inhibits HIV-1 Binding to Cells

Byron's Comments:

Silver appears to have properties that suggest it could prevent a virus from binding to a human cell.

Study Title:

Interaction of silver nanoparticles with HIV-1

Study Abstract:

The interaction of nanoparticles with biomolecules and microorganisms is an expanding field of research. Within this field, an area that has been largely unexplored is the interaction of metal nanoparticles with viruses. In this work, we demonstrate that silver nanoparticles undergo a size-dependent interaction with HIV-1, with nanoparticles exclusively in the range of 1–10 nm attached to the virus. The regular spatial arrangement of the attached nanoparticles, the center-to-center distance between nanoparticles, and the fact that the exposed sulfur-bearing residues of the glycoprotein knobs would be attractive sites for nanoparticle interaction suggest that silver nanoparticles interact with the HIV-1 virus via preferential binding to the gp120 glycoprotein knobs. Due to this interaction, silver nanoparticles inhibit the virus from binding to host cells, as demonstrated in vitro.

Study Information:

Jose Luis Elechiguerra, Justin L Burt, Jose R Morones, Alejandra Camacho-Bragado, Xiaoxia Gao, Humberto H Lara, and Miguel Jose Yacaman. Interaction of silver nanoparticles with HIV-1 J Nanobiotechnology.  2005 June  
Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.

Full Study:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1190212

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