Ebsulfur and Ebselen as highly potent scaffolds for the development of potential SARS-CoV-2 antivirals.

ABSTRACT: The emerging COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has raised a global catastrophe. To date, there is no specific antiviral drug available to combat this virus, except the vaccine. In this study, the main protease (M^pro) required for SARS-CoV-2 viral replication was expressed and purified. Thirty-six compounds were tested as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values of Ebselen and Ebsulfur analogs were obtained to be in the range of 0.074-0.91 μM. Notably, the molecules containing furane substituent displayed higher inhibition against M^pro, followed by Ebselen 1i (IC₅₀ = 0.074 μM) an

SUBMITTER: Sun LY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8026246 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature