Fundamental aspects and developments in cellulose-based membrane technologies for virus retention: A review

Protecting life from deadly infectious viruses is the biggest challenge at this moment. Filtration is well-recognized technology to prevent contamination by stopping the ejection of viruses in water and air. Membrane made from eco-friendly cellulose and its derivatives have increased interest due to their versatile effectiveness in eliminating viruses. However, due to originating new viruses or their frequent mutation, researchers are constantly introduced new technologies. They have been customized the membrane composition, structures and manufacturing process by manipulating various polymers, metal nanoparticles, antiviral agents, radiation etc. depending on the nature, sizes, and specificity of viruses. The review assesses the research published in the last 15 years on the development of cellulose-based membrane and their virus retention techniques. In this review, we discuss various membrane filtration and virus inactivation technologies for the elimination of virus from air, water and biopharmaceutical sources. We start with fundamental aspects of cellulose-based membrane and their usage in conventional filtrations like microfiltration, ultrafiltration nanofiltration, etc. Then, we have added a number methods of cellulose membrane modification such as treatments with metal-nanoparticles, electrospinning of regenerated cellulose, UV irradiation treatment, blend with synthetic polymers, and various functionalization approaches. Furthermore, the virus retention capabilities of modified membranes whenever connected with single and hybrid filtration systems are presented herein. Overall, this review accumulates extensive studies by focusing on the developments, highlights the gaps and offer future recommendations for developing new technology to get high performance from the cellulose-based membrane.