Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Ultrasound effectively destabilizes and disrupts the structural integrity of enveloped respiratory viruses

doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-37584-x

Figure Lengend Snippet: Temperature and pH during ultrasound exposure. ( a ), ( b ) Under resonance conditions (7.5 MHz), both temperature and pH remained stable over 30 min, as measured with a digital thermistor and pH meter, respectively. ( c ), ( d ) In contrast, exposure in a low-frequency ultrasonic bath (42 kHz, cavitation-prone conditions) resulted in progressive temperature increase and medium acidification. Data are presented as mean ± SEM from at least two independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA followed by Šídák’s post hoc test.

Article Snippet: Viral stocks (100 μL) were exposed using clinical diagnostic ultrasound systems (Esaote MyLab 60; Philips Envisor HD) equipped with linear-array transducers operating at 3–12, 5–10, or 6–18 MHz.

Techniques:

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Ultrasound effectively destabilizes and disrupts the structural integrity of enveloped respiratory viruses

doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-37584-x

Figure Lengend Snippet: Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analysis of respiratory virus particle size distribution before and after ultrasound treatment. Measurements focused on ( a ), ( b ) SARS-CoV-2 (wild type) and ( c ), ( d ) Influenza A (H1N1). Untreated samples showed monodisperse distributions consistent with intact virions. Ultrasound-treated samples exhibited broadened, shifted profiles, reduced average diameters, emergence of smaller peaks, and increased PdI, indicative of disruption, fragmentation, and aggregation. Ultrasound was delivered under resonance conditions using a clinical diagnostic system at 7.5 MHz for 5 min. Data represent at least two independent experiments.

Article Snippet: Viral stocks (100 μL) were exposed using clinical diagnostic ultrasound systems (Esaote MyLab 60; Philips Envisor HD) equipped with linear-array transducers operating at 3–12, 5–10, or 6–18 MHz.

Techniques: Virus, Disruption, Diagnostic Assay

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Ultrasound effectively destabilizes and disrupts the structural integrity of enveloped respiratory viruses

doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-37584-x

Figure Lengend Snippet: Ultrasound-induced morphostructural alterations in SARS-CoV-2 particles by SEM and AFM. Viral suspensions were exposed to ultrasound (7.5 MHz, 5 min). Untreated particles ( a ) display spherical morphology with smooth and intact surfaces, whereas ultrasound-treated particles ( b ) exhibit pronounced surface disruption and loss of structural integrity. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) height profiles, shown at full scale ( c ), ( d ) and half scale ( e ), ( f ), further confirm envelope destabilization and compromised viral integrity. Data are representative of at least two independent experiments.

Article Snippet: Viral stocks (100 μL) were exposed using clinical diagnostic ultrasound systems (Esaote MyLab 60; Philips Envisor HD) equipped with linear-array transducers operating at 3–12, 5–10, or 6–18 MHz.

Techniques: Disruption, Microscopy

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Ultrasound effectively destabilizes and disrupts the structural integrity of enveloped respiratory viruses

doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-37584-x

Figure Lengend Snippet: US treatment inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication. ( a ) Experimental schematic illustrating ultrasound exposure of viral suspensions using linear-array diagnostic transducers operating at Equip.1 (3–12 MHz), Equip.2 (5–10 MHz), or Equip.3 (6–18 MHz) for 30 min. Treated and untreated viral samples were subsequently used to infect Vero-E6 cells. ( b ) Immunofluorescence analysis of infected Vero-E6 cells after ultrasound treatment. Viral spike protein was detected in green, while viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), a replication intermediate, was detected in red. Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI (blue). Scale bar: 50 μm.

Article Snippet: Viral stocks (100 μL) were exposed using clinical diagnostic ultrasound systems (Esaote MyLab 60; Philips Envisor HD) equipped with linear-array transducers operating at 3–12, 5–10, or 6–18 MHz.

Techniques: Infection, Diagnostic Assay, Immunofluorescence

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Ultrasound effectively destabilizes and disrupts the structural integrity of enveloped respiratory viruses

doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-37584-x

Figure Lengend Snippet: Frequency-dependent efficiency of ultrasound inactivating SARS-CoV-2. Viral infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 wild-type (WT) was quantified by TCID₅₀ assay following ultrasound exposure for 1, 5, or 10 min at different frequency modes. Data are presented as mean ± SEM from at least two independent experiments. Statistical significance was assessed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test.

Article Snippet: Viral stocks (100 μL) were exposed using clinical diagnostic ultrasound systems (Esaote MyLab 60; Philips Envisor HD) equipped with linear-array transducers operating at 3–12, 5–10, or 6–18 MHz.

Techniques: Infection

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Ultrasound effectively destabilizes and disrupts the structural integrity of enveloped respiratory viruses

doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-37584-x

Figure Lengend Snippet: Ultrasound-mediated physical mechanisms at biological interfaces. Panel a illustrates the classical cavitation pathway. When ultrasound is applied in the kHz range (Step 1), acoustic waves promote the nucleation and growth of bubbles within the medium. As these bubbles oscillate, they generate local heating and reactive chemical species such as H + and OH − (Step 2). Ultimately, violent bubble collapse produces shock waves, microjets, and intense mechanical stress (Step 3), leading to indiscriminate fragmentation of both host cells and viral particles (Step 4). Panel B depicts the resonance pathway, which operates in the MHz range and reveals a distinct physical mechanism. When highfrequency ultrasound impinges on a viral particle (Step 1), part of the acoustic energy is transferred to its surface (Step 2). Because of impedance mismatch at the virus–medium interface (Step 3), energy is efficiently absorbed by the virion, exciting its natural vibrational modes (Step 4). These vibrations drive cyclic compression and rarefaction (Step 5), creating alternating states of potential and kinetic energy that accumulate within the viral envelope (Step 6). As the energy builds up, the viral shell becomes mechanically destabilized and loses structural integrity. In parallel, host cells exposed to the same acoustic field (Step 7) do not absorb significant energy (Step 8), and therefore maintain their normal morphology and structural integrity (Step 9).

Article Snippet: Viral stocks (100 μL) were exposed using clinical diagnostic ultrasound systems (Esaote MyLab 60; Philips Envisor HD) equipped with linear-array transducers operating at 3–12, 5–10, or 6–18 MHz.

Techniques: Virus