Haloperoxidase-mimicking CeO2-x nanorods for the deactivation of human coronavirus OC43

Despite the excellent antibacterial and antifouling effects of haloperoxidase (HPO)-mimicking CeO2-x nanorods, their antiviral efficiency has not been explored. Herein, we designed and synthesized CeO2-x nanorods with varying aspect ratios via the hydrothermal method. CeO2-x nanorods catalysed the oxidative bromination of Br- and H2O2 to HOBr, the kinetics of which were studied systematically using a phenol red assay. The CeO2-x nanorods with the optimized aspect ratio (i.e., 4.5) demonstrated strong antiviral efficacies against the human coronavirus OC43, with no visible toxicity to the HCT-8 host cells.