Antiviral Polymers

Polymers, due to their high molecular weight, tunable architecture, functionality, and
buffering effect for endosomal escape, possess unique properties as a carrier or prophylactic agent in
preventing pandemic outbreak of new viruses. Polymers are used as a carrier to reduce the minimum
required dose, bioavailability, and therapeutic effectiveness of antiviral agents. Polymers are also used
as multifunctional nanomaterials to, directly or indirectly, inhibit viral infections. Multifunctional
polymers can interact directly with envelope glycoproteins on the viral surface to block fusion and
entry of the virus in the host cell. Polymers can indirectly mobilize the immune system by activating
macrophages and natural killer cells against the invading virus. This review covers natural and
synthetic polymers that possess antiviral activity, their mechanism of action, and the effect of material
properties like chemical composition, molecular weight, functional groups, and charge density on
antiviral activity. Natural polymers like carrageenan, chitosan, fucoidan, and phosphorothioate
oligonucleotides, and synthetic polymers like dendrimers and sialylated polymers are reviewed.
This review discusses the steps in the viral replication cycle from binding to cell surface receptors
to viral-cell fusion, replication, assembly, and release of the virus from the host cell that antiviral
polymers interfere with to block viral infections