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Review
. 2020 Sep 1:201:112559.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112559. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Fight against novel coronavirus: A perspective of medicinal chemists

Affiliations
Review

Fight against novel coronavirus: A perspective of medicinal chemists

Sk Abdul Amin et al. Eur J Med Chem. .

Abstract

The ongoing novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic makes us painfully perceive that our bullet shells are blank so far for fighting against severe human coronavirus (HCoV). In spite of vast research work, it is crystal clear that the evident does not warrant the commercial blossoming of anti-HCoV drugs. In this circumstance, drug repurposing and/or screening of databases are the only fastest option. This study is an initiative to recapitulate the medicinal chemistry of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The aim is to present an exquisite delineation of the current research from the perspective of a medicinal chemist to allow the rapid development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents.

Keywords: Anti-HCoV agent; COVID-19; Drug repurposing; Molecular modelling; SARS-CoV-2; Target based screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflict of interests.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic representation of coronavirus structure showing M (membrane) protein, S (Spike) protein, E (envelope) protein, N (nucleocapsid) protein & RNA along with the receptor ACE2.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic plot of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and proteome showing different polyproteins (pp1a and pp1b) along with the structural and accessory proteins. Abbreviations used are: PL2-Pro, papain-like protease; 3CLpro, virus main protease; RdRp, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase; Helicase, Zn2+-dependent helicase; S protein, spike protein; E, envelope glycoprotein; M, matrix; N, nucleocapsid; PDB, protein data bank.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Structure of the virtual hits.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Structure of Lopinavir, Indinavir, Ritonavir and Methisazone.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Structure and EC50 values of Nafamostat, Nitazoxanide, Favipiravir, Remdesivir and Penciclovir against SARS-CoV-2 in Vero E6 cells.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Structure of Chloroquine (CQ) and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Small-molecular inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro).
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Drug discovery approaches against novel coronavirus.

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