molecules-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Development of Antiviral Drug Candidates against SARS-CoV-2

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 3777

Special Issue Editor

Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: medicinal chemistry of antiviral agents against RNA viruses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will focus on research leading to new compounds as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2. Our goal is to include both derivatives that target viral proteins and compounds that interact with host factors necessary for the replication of this virus. One of our aims is to prepare a comprehensive issue that will focus on substances that have been validated on the target structures of the virus or host and have the potential to serve as future drugs. Reviews focused on individual protein groups are also welcome.

Dr. Radim Nencka
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • SARS-CoV-2
  • antiviral activity
  • enzyme inhibitors
  • viral proteins
  • host factors
  • RNA-dependent RNA polymerase
  • protease

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 2249 KiB  
Article
Robust Saliva-Based RNA Extraction-Free One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification Test for Mass SARS-CoV-2 Monitoring
by Eva Rajh, Tina Šket, Arne Praznik, Petra Sušjan, Alenka Šmid, Dunja Urbančič, Irena Mlinarič-Raščan, Polona Kogovšek, Tina Demšar, Mojca Milavec, Katarina Prosenc Trilar, Žiga Jensterle, Mihaela Zidarn, Viktorija Tomič, Gabriele Turel, Tatjana Lejko-Zupanc, Roman Jerala and Mojca Benčina
Molecules 2021, 26(21), 6617; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26216617 - 31 Oct 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3421
Abstract
Early diagnosis with rapid detection of the virus plays a key role in preventing the spread of infection and in treating patients effectively. In order to address the need for a straightforward detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection and assessment of viral spread, we developed [...] Read more.
Early diagnosis with rapid detection of the virus plays a key role in preventing the spread of infection and in treating patients effectively. In order to address the need for a straightforward detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection and assessment of viral spread, we developed rapid, sensitive, extraction-free one-step reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in saliva. We analyzed over 700 matched pairs of saliva and nasopharyngeal swab (NSB) specimens from asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals. Saliva, as either an oral cavity swab or passive drool, was collected in an RNA stabilization buffer. The stabilized saliva specimens were heat-treated and directly analyzed without RNA extraction. The diagnostic sensitivity of saliva-based RT-qPCR was at least 95% in individuals with subclinical infection and outperformed RT-LAMP, which had at least 70% sensitivity when compared to NSBs analyzed with a clinical RT-qPCR test. The diagnostic sensitivity for passive drool saliva was higher than that of oral cavity swab specimens (95% and 87%, respectively). A rapid, sensitive one-step extraction-free RT-qPCR test for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in passive drool saliva is operationally simple and can be easily implemented using existing testing sites, thus allowing high-throughput, rapid, and repeated testing of large populations. Furthermore, saliva testing is adequate to detect individuals in an asymptomatic screening program and can help improve voluntary screening compliance for those individuals averse to various forms of nasal collections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Antiviral Drug Candidates against SARS-CoV-2)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop