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COVID-19: Energy landscape theory of SARS-CoV-2 complexes with Particulate Matter

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  • Zangari del Balzo, Gianluigi

Abstract

In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the thermodynamics of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has been overlooked and, therefore, much is still unknown. Hence there is a serious methodological problem which, if not addressed and solved, can invalidate the results of the entire research and prophylaxis. In particular, most of the structural and functional models of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus lack a correct definition of the thermodynamics of the viral particle with its environment. This is a serious systematic error. In the present work we therefore study the thermodynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in its "hunting" environment, from air transport to cellular entry into the host. The first fundamental point is that in the study of the thermodynamics of the air environment of SARS-CoV-2, the presence of nanoparticles, dust, pollutants and other particles of an order of magnitude at least comparable to that of the viral particle cannot be overlooked. This work therefore starts from a comparative study of the environments in China and Italy, the first countries affected by the infection. When the present study started (February 2020) there was still no evidence of a correlation between the spread of infection and pollution, but today there is much experimental evidence of this. Indeed, many studies agree that the countries most affected by the pandemic are also the most polluted. Apart from the initial case of China and Italy, we have thus evidence of this correlation in other countries hard hit by the pandemic such as the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Brazil and others. We therefore propose a theory of the energy landscape of the cooperative and synergistic complexes that the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 forms with particulate dust and other pollutants. This model explains both the effects of the selective pressure exerted by the environment on the parasite, and the emergence of devastating viral quasi-species, tracing in a single formalism the main variables and parameters that describe the formation of synergistic and cooperative complexes of SARS-CoV- 2 with the particles present in the environment. It explains in particular why the complexification of the parasite due to the environmental selective pressure in the environment is not only necessary for its survival and reproductive strategy, but at the same time has a devastating effect for the host species. Ultimately, on the basis of this model it is therefore possible: 1) on the one hand to explain the thermodynamics of the phenomenon to avoid the onset of dangerous systematic errors 2) on the other to devise new research tools and methods to study the evolution and spread of infection 3) at the same time, making any improvements to vaccine prophylaxis, focusing research on the most dangerous viral quasi-species, saving time, resources and costs for the companies that produce the vaccines.

Suggested Citation

  • Zangari del Balzo, Gianluigi, 2020. "COVID-19: Energy landscape theory of SARS-CoV-2 complexes with Particulate Matter," OSF Preprints qnws8_v1, Center for Open Science.
  • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:qnws8_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/qnws8_v1
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