Designing Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2’s Main Protease from (2S)-N-(4-carbamoylphenyl)oxolane-2-carboxamide
Session Number
Project ID: CHEM 19
Advisor(s)
Dr. John Thurmond, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Discipline
Chemistry
Start Date
20-4-2022 10:45 AM
End Date
20-4-2022 11:00 AM
Abstract
With the rise in cases of SARS-CoV-2, it is imperative to discover a drug—in this case, an oral drug—to combat the virus’s ability to swiftly replicate. Fragment-based drug discovery provides a useful starting point in regards to the design of inhibitors rather than utilizing larger molecules. Due to the small size of these fragments, they can bind themselves to the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 and serve as starting points in designing larger, more potent inhibitors of the viral replication cycle. Through altering the structure of the fragment (2S)-N-(4-carbamoylphenyl)oxolane-2-carboxamide, a known inhibitor of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, on SeeSAR, 1389 compounds were designed and four potential new inhibitors were selected for further evaluation. After running an analysis on ADMETlab 2.0, it was clear that inhibitors (3) and (4) were the most likely candidates for potential research in the future as the results of inhibitors (1) and (2) were marked with multiple high risks. When comparing inhibitors (3) and (4), both inhibitors predict some form of toxicity towards the human body and difficulties with the real-world implementation of the drug. However, inhibitor (3) lacks the ability to be effectively absorbed by the human body, making inhibitor (4) the more favorable choice. Further research and laboratory work is needed to fully understand each inhibitor’s efficacy in-vivo.
Designing Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2’s Main Protease from (2S)-N-(4-carbamoylphenyl)oxolane-2-carboxamide
With the rise in cases of SARS-CoV-2, it is imperative to discover a drug—in this case, an oral drug—to combat the virus’s ability to swiftly replicate. Fragment-based drug discovery provides a useful starting point in regards to the design of inhibitors rather than utilizing larger molecules. Due to the small size of these fragments, they can bind themselves to the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 and serve as starting points in designing larger, more potent inhibitors of the viral replication cycle. Through altering the structure of the fragment (2S)-N-(4-carbamoylphenyl)oxolane-2-carboxamide, a known inhibitor of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, on SeeSAR, 1389 compounds were designed and four potential new inhibitors were selected for further evaluation. After running an analysis on ADMETlab 2.0, it was clear that inhibitors (3) and (4) were the most likely candidates for potential research in the future as the results of inhibitors (1) and (2) were marked with multiple high risks. When comparing inhibitors (3) and (4), both inhibitors predict some form of toxicity towards the human body and difficulties with the real-world implementation of the drug. However, inhibitor (3) lacks the ability to be effectively absorbed by the human body, making inhibitor (4) the more favorable choice. Further research and laboratory work is needed to fully understand each inhibitor’s efficacy in-vivo.