Can one fight viruses with hydrogels?

This question was addressed by two young pupils (Ava and Gesa, Schiller Gymnasium, grade 9).

In their research project they substituted the positively charged spike protein of a virus with a positively charged dye and could directly observe the binding capacity in hydrogel networks of different pore size and negative charge density. The virus capture occurs by electrostatic interaction as recently proven within the CRC 1449 for several mucus-like hydrogels. Dr. Boonya Thongrom was an excellent supervisor as Ava and Gesa were very successful in two rounds of competition and obtained the first prize in the regional competition for chemistry and became second place in the state competition.