Fig. 3
Electromagnetic waves reduce infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 Virus-Like Particles (SC2-VLPs). (A) Diagram of SC2-VLP production, electromagnetic wave treatment and infectivity assay. Plasmids expressing each of the SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins (Nucleocapsid (N); Matrix (M); Envelope (E); and Spike (S)), or a plasmid encoding a packaging signal and luciferase transcript (Luc-PS9) were transfected into viral producer cells (HEK293T). SC2-VLPs were then collected, left unexposed or exposed to various electromagnetic wave frequencies (1–6 GHz) and used to infect target cells (HEK293T-ACE2-TMPRSS2). The next day, luciferase was measured as a readout of infectivity. Created in https://BioRender.com. (B) Western blot of pelleted Spike (S), Nucleocapsid (N), Membrane (M), Envelope (E) in unexposed virus particles. The image is representative of two independent experiments. (C) SC2-VLP infectivity assay. Frequencies (1–6 GHz) were tested over a range of exposure times (2–10 min). Data represent compiled mean +/- SD of 5 independent experiments. The luciferase signal for each frequency/exposure time was performed in triplicate. P-values indicate Wilcoxon matched-pair signed rank test of unexposed compared to exposed samples. (n = 90 (Unexposed); n = 36 (1.0–2.5 GHz & 2.5–3.5 GHz) n = 15 (3.5–4.8 GHz), n = 33 (4.8–6 GHz), n = 18 (MW)). RLU: Renilla Luciferase Units (RLU). MW: Microwave.
