Biosafe sustainable antimicrobial encapsulation and coatings for targeted treatment and infections prevention: Preparation for another pandemic

There has been a growing concern for safety and precautions in the wake of coronavirus SARS-CoV2 pandemic also dubbed as COVID-19, which has caused a major impact at a global scale. This has resulted in many industries accelerating at fast pace new biosafety technologies and improving the already existing ones to deal with this highly contagious virus. Most governments across the globe are also mandating policies focusing on increased biosafety to prevent further spread of the virus and protect key workers such as healthcare agents, store employees and police. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed huge gaps in the healthcare industry that include lack of effective vaccines and medicines, testing of infection, real-time monitoring of the spread of the virus, inadequate protective equipment, and scarcity of protective and intensive care of patients. Some of these may be attributed to a lack of focused research in biosafety materials. As a consequence of the pandemic, a significant body of research activities has therefore focused on biosafety materials that possess unique properties needed for biosafety applications. This graphical review aims to provide a perspective on the usage of bio-based materials to handle the imposing challenges in biosafety. This review investigates existing developments in bio-based antimicrobial encapsulations as an effective measure to deter the growth of COVID-19 virus on surfaces and minimize its spread through surface contact. This will help researchers develop further strategies in material science to focus on contagious pathogens in the future.