The Lipid Bilayer of the Coronavirus - Why it's easily penetrated & compromised

To clearly understand why the lipid bilayer (the thin cell membrane that covers the coronavirus) is considered to be fragile, it's helpful to understand how it's structured. Keep in mind that the lipid bilayer of our own cells is structured just like the lipid bilayer of the coronavirus.

I have several videos about the bilayer on this page, but if you watch the video below, you will see Julie Yu, PhD, the Senior Scientist at Exploratorium in San Francisco, confirm that yes, the lipid bilayer of the coronavirus is the same as the type in our own cells (it's helpful to know this right off the bat).  

She says:

"Many viruses, including coronaviruses, are surrounded by a membrane. And this membrane is exactly the same as the one that surrounds our own cells."

"The trick to inactivating the virus is to disrupt the membrane. Soap molecules have very simliar properties. They have one side that likes water, and another side that's attracted to fat. That's why they're really helpful when you're washing your greasy dishes. If you can get a soap molecule into the virus membrane, it'll disrupt the structure of the membrane, and that inactivates the virus."

Please keep in mind that soap molecules have the same structure as an anionic surfactant.  And anionic surfactants are the strongest type out of the 4 types of surfactants there are (the others are nonionic, cationic and amphoteric).  That net charge enables the surfactant molecule to be quickly drawn to the fat. 

A molecule from the Coronavirus' bilayer has a fatty lipid (lipophilic or fat-loving) tail, and a hydrophilic (water loving) head. I personally believe that consumable surfactants (which can be made with baking soda and lime juice) will have the same effect as soap, on many of the coronavirus virions (single viruses) that are in your body, once you've already been infected. Yes, this is my own personal theory, but I came to this conclusion after seeing many testimonials by people who really felt that this combination helped prevent them from getting very sick from the coronavirus. 

Picture a small room that's 10 feet by 10 feet, and someone went in and blew up 1,000 round helium balloons, with 2 strings per balloon. They'd likely spread out over the top in an even layer, with the balloons all touching each other, but they're not actually stuck together. There would just be a nice "layer" of balloons, all sitting next to each other. Because the molecules aren't fastened or glued together, they can still move around.  They're like passengers on a bus that have to scoot over a little, for the next person who wants to sit down next to them. 

The balloons will always spread out in a way that allows them to maintain a thin, even layer. Kind of like a thin layer of algae growing on the surface of water in a pond, or a huge crowd of people crammed in front of a stage of a concert. That dense layer offers protection to what's inside the virus, but the molecules can still shift around a bit - which is, again, why it's easy for a soap molecule to get in there, and mess things up.

The guy in this video talks about how the lipid bilayer is SEMI PERMEABLE, so, as he says, "some compounds are able to traverse this nonpolar section."

"Small, non-polar molecules are able to go right through the lipid bilayer, because they are not repelled by this non-polar material. This is how oxygen and carbon dioxide get across, since they are tiny and non-polar."

This video below is a must-see.  If you watch this video, you'll see why viruses are so easily killed with soap. We've all heard that by now, but few people are talking about the fact that soap is effective against the coronavirus because soap is a SURFACTANT, and there are surfactants that are safe to consume!  You can easily make your own surfactant by combining baking soda with an acidic solution.... like lime or lemon juice!!

 

How the Lipid bilayer is formed - pretty interesting stuff.