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PalliThordarson's profile
Palli Thordarson
Palli Thordarson
Palli Thordarson
@PalliThordarson

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Palli Thordarson

@PalliThordarson

Professor, School of Chemistry UNSW

Sydney, New South Wales
chemistry.unsw.edu.au/staff/pall-tho…
Joined December 2014

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    Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

    1/25 Part 1 - Why does soap work so well on the SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus and indeed most viruses? Because it is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. A two part thread about soap, viruses and supramolecular chemistry #COVID19pic.twitter.com/OCwqPjO5Ht

    11:08 PM - 7 Mar 2020
    • 46,288 Retweets
    • 75,759 Likes
    • Carmen Jo James S O F I A 🌹 Anand UPADHYAY (fromaProudFauziFamily) Arun Gopalakrishnan Claire Tiunn Didi 😷 Liberty🏳️‍🌈 La Pirata Dee-Tails
    1,309 replies 46,288 retweets 75,759 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        2/25 The soap dissolves the fat membrane and the virus falls apart like a house of cards and "dies", or rather, we should say it becomes inactive as viruses aren’t really alive. Viruses can be active outside the body for hours, even days.

        45 replies 1,604 retweets 4,818 likes
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      3. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        3/25 Disinfectants, or liquids, wipes, gels and creams containing alcohol (and soap) have a similar effects but are not really quite as good as normal soap. Apart from the alcohol and soap, the “antibacterial agents” in these products don't affect the virus structure much at all.

        28 replies 1,670 retweets 4,260 likes
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      4. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        4/25 Consequently, many antibacterial products are basically just an expensive version of soap in terms of how they act on viruses. Soap is the best but alcohol wipes are good when soap is not practical or handy (e.g. office receptions).

        20 replies 1,183 retweets 3,750 likes
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      5. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        5/25 But why exactly is soap so good? To explain that, I will take you through a bit of a journey through supramolecular #chemistry, nanoscience and virology. I try to explain this in generic terms as much as possible, which means leaving some specialist chemistry terms out.

        11 replies 676 retweets 2,844 likes
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      6. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        6/25 I point out to that while I am expert in supramolecular chemistry and the assembly of nanoparticles, I am not a virologists. The image with the first tweet is from an excellent post here which is dense with good virology info:https://medium.com/@edwardnirenberg/sars-cov-2-and-the-lessons-we-have-to-learn-from-it-e2017fd5d3c …

        11 replies 812 retweets 3,033 likes
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      7. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        7/25 I have always been fascinated by viruses as I see them as one of them most spectacular examples of how supramolecular chemistry and nanoscience can converge. Most viruses consist of three key building blocks: RNA, proteins and lipids.

        13 replies 474 retweets 2,360 likes
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      8. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        8/25 The RNA is the viral genetic material -it is very similar to DNA. The proteins have several roles including breaking into the target cell, assist with virus replication and basically to be a key building block (like a brick in a house) in the whole virus structure.

        5 replies 419 retweets 1,953 likes
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      9. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        9/25 The lipids then form a coat around the virus, both for protection and to assist with its spread and cellular invasion. The RNA, proteins and lipids self-assemble to form the virus. Critically, there are no strong “covalent” bonds holding these units together.

        7 replies 419 retweets 1,973 likes
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      10. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        10/25 Instead the viral self-assembly is based on weak “non-covalent” interactions between the proteins, RNA and lipids. Together these act together like a Velcro so it is very hard to break up the self-assembled viral particle. Still, we can do it (e.g. with soap!).

        8 replies 427 retweets 1,958 likes
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      11. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        11/25 Most viruses, including the coronavirus, are between 50-200 nanometers – so they are truly nanoparticles. Nanoparticles have complex interactions with surfaces they are on. Same with viruses. Skin, steel, timber, fabric, paint and porcelain are very different surfaces.

        7 replies 425 retweets 1,910 likes
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      12. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        12/25 When a virus invades a cell, the RNA “hijacks” the cellular machinery like a computer virus (!) and forces the cell to start to makes a lot of fresh copies of its own RNA and the various proteins that make up the virus.

        11 replies 426 retweets 1,920 likes
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      13. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        13/25 These new RNA and protein molecules, self-assemble with lipids (usually readily present in the cell) to form new copies of the virus. That is, the virus does not photocopy itself, it makes copies of the building blocks which then self-assemble into new viruses!

        5 replies 422 retweets 2,052 likes
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      14. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        14/25 All those new viruses eventually overwhelm the cell and it dies/explodes releasing viruses which then go on to infect more cells. In the lungs, some of these viruses end up in the airways and the mucous membranes surrounding these.

        4 replies 388 retweets 1,768 likes
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      15. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        15/25 When you cough, or especially when you sneeze, tiny droplets from the airways can fly up to 10 meters (30 ft)! The larger ones are thought to be main coronavirus carriers and they can go at least 2 m (7 ft). Thus – cover your coughs & sneezes people!

        15 replies 829 retweets 2,408 likes
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      16. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        16/25 These tiny droplets end on surfaces and often dry out quickly. But the viruses are still active! What happens next is all about supramolecular chemistry and how self-assembled nanoparticles (like the viruses) interact with their environment!

        3 replies 425 retweets 1,803 likes
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      17. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        17/25 Now it is time to introduce a powerful supramolecular chemistry concept that effectively says: similar molecules appear to interact more strongly with each other than dissimilar ones. Wood, fabric and not to mention skin interact fairly strongly with viruses.

        6 replies 427 retweets 1,842 likes
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      18. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        18/25 Contrast this with steel, porcelain and at least some plastics, e.g. teflon. The surface structure also matter – the flatter the surface the less the virus will “stick” to the surface. Rougher surfaces can actually pull the virus apart.

        13 replies 410 retweets 1,774 likes
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      19. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        19/25 So why are surfaces different? The virus is held together by a combination of hydrogen bonds (like those in water) and what we call hydrophilic or “fat-like” interactions. The surface of fibres or wood for instance can form a lot of hydrogen bonds with the virus.

        16 replies 385 retweets 1,755 likes
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      20. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        20/25 In contrast steel, porcelain or teflon do not form a lot of hydrogen bond with the virus. So the virus is not strongly bound to these surfaces. The virus is quite stable on these surface whereas it doesn’t stay active for as long on say fabric or wood.

        11 replies 447 retweets 1,832 likes
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      21. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        21/25 For how long does the virus stay active? It depends. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is thought to stay active on favourable surfaces for hours, possibly a day. Moisture (“dissolves”), sun light (UV light) and heat (molecular motions) all make the virus less stable.

        15 replies 589 retweets 2,037 likes
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      22. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        22/25 The skin is an ideal surface for a virus! It is “organic” and the proteins and fatty acids in the dead cells on the surface interact with the virus through both hydrogen bonds and the “fat-like” hydrophilic interactions.

        12 replies 441 retweets 1,777 likes
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      23. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        23/25 So when you touch say a steel surface with a virus particle on it, it will stick to your skin and hence get transferred onto your hands. But you are not (yet) infected. If you touch your face though, the virus can get transferred from your hands and on to your face.

        7 replies 580 retweets 1,932 likes
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      24. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        24/25 And now the virus is dangerously close to the airways and the mucus type membranes in and around your mouth and eyes. So the virus can get in…and voila! You are infected (that is, unless your immune system kills the virus).

        8 replies 445 retweets 1,843 likes
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      25. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        25/25 If the virus is on your hands you can pass it on by shaking someone’s else hand. Kisses, well, that's pretty obvious…It comes without saying that if someone sneezes right in your face you are kind of stuffed. Part 2 about soap coming next (25 post limit reached)!

        11 replies 376 retweets 1,870 likes
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      26. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        26/39 Part 2 about soap, supramolecular chemistry and viruses. So how often do you touch your face? It turns out most people touch the face once every 2-5 minutes! Yeah, so you at high risk once the virus gets on your hands unless you can wash the active virus off.

        16 replies 475 retweets 1,877 likes
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      27. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        27/39 So let’s try washing it off with plain water. It might just work. But water “only” competes with the strong “glue-like” interactions between the skin and virus via hydrogen bonds. They virus is quite sticky and may not budge. Water isn’t enough.

        5 replies 401 retweets 1,697 likes
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      28. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        28/39 Soapy water is totally different. Soap contains fat-like substances knowns as amphiphiles, some structurally very similar to the lipids in the virus membrane. The soap molecules “compete” with the lipids in the virus membrane.pic.twitter.com/roMbcOnDr2

        27 replies 815 retweets 2,511 likes
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      29. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        29/39 The soap molecules also compete with a lot other non-covalent bonds that help the proteins, RNA and the lipids to stick together. The soap is effectively “dissolving” the glue that holds the virus together. Add to that all the water.

        5 replies 453 retweets 1,854 likes
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      30. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        30/39 The soap also outcompetes the interactions between the virus and the skin surface. Soon the viruses get detached and fall a part like a house of cards due to the combined action of the soap and water. The virus is gone!

        10 replies 460 retweets 1,872 likes
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      31. Palli Thordarson‏ @PalliThordarson 7 Mar 2020

        31/39 The skin is quite rough and wrinkly which is why you do need a fair amount of rubbing and soaking to ensure the soap reaches very crook and nanny on the skin surface that could be hiding active viruses.

        33 replies 508 retweets 2,135 likes
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      32. Show replies

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