Anti-Viral Effect Evidenced from Carbon Silk Made from Natural Silk

Abstract

Carbon Silk (CS) is made from silk fabrics heated to around 1000ºC, and has been shown to have an anti-bacterial effect. We therefore examined the ability of CS to eliminate viruses, with three envelope viruses (transmissible gastroenteritis virus, Audieskv's virus, vesicular stomatitis virus) and two non-envelope viruses (footand mouth disease virus (FMDV), swine vesicular disease virus). CS showed a significant ability to eliminate viruses against three envelope viruses and FMDV. This effect was enhanced by increasing the quantities of CS, but was not affected by reaction time or temperature, and it was observed in repetitive reactions. The mechanism of this CS effect was considered to consist of electrostatic interactions between virus particles and the N radical in the CS.