Coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, may be vulnerable to ultrasound vibrations, within the frequencies used in medical diagnostic imaging, according to a study that used computer simulations .
The researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. explained the mechanical response of coronaviruses to vibration over a range of ultrasound frequencies.
They found that vibrations between 25 and 100 megahertz caused the virus’ shell and spikes to fall off and begin to break within a fraction of a million million.
The finding, published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, demonstrates this effect in samples of the virus both in air and in water.
The team said its findings are the first idea of a possible ultrasound-based treatment for coronaviruses, including the novel Covid-19-induced SARS-CoV-2 virus. .
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“We have shown, under ultrasound excitation, that the coronavirus shell and spikes are activated, and that the magnitude of that vibration is very large, emitting rays that can break down certain parts of the virus. , causing obvious damage to the outer shell and possibly invisible damage to the inner RNA, “said Tomasz Wierzbicki, professor of applied mechanics at MIT.
“Hopefully our paper will start a debate on a number of topics,” said Wierzbicki.
The researchers noted that the initial results are based on limited data on the physical properties of the virus.
They said it remains to be investigated exactly what ultrasound could be administered, and how effective it would be in damaging the virus within a complex human body.
In their study, the researchers incorporated acoustic vibrations into the simulations and observed how the vibrations passed through the structure of the coronavirus over a range of ultrasound frequencies.
They started with vibrations of 100 megahertz, or 100 million cycles per second, which they estimated would be the natural vibration frequency of the shell, based on what we know about the physical properties of the virus.
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When the researchers exposed the virus to 100 MHz ultrasound injections, the natural vibrations of the virus were not initially unknown.
However, within a millisecond fraction, the vibrations from the outside, rising with the frequency of the natural oscillations of the virus, caused the shell and spikes to push inward, like a ball that it pours out as it kicks off the ground.
As the researchers increased the magnitude, or intensity, of the vibrations, the shell could break – an acoustic phenomenon called resonance that also explains how opera singers can crack a wine glass if they singing at the right level and at the right size.
At lower frequencies of 25 MHz and 50 MHz, the virus pushes and breaks down even faster, both in typical air environments, and in water that is similar in density to liquids in the body. , they said.
“These frequencies and intensities are within the range that is safely used for medical imaging,” Wierzbicki said.