Strategies and Challenges to Develop Therapeutic Candidates against COVID-19 Pandemic

An updated review on 1,2,3-/1,2,4-triazoles: synthesis and diverse range of biological potential

The synthesis of triazoles has attracted a lot of interest in the field of organic chemistry because of its versatile chemical characteristics and possible biological uses. This review offers an extensive overview of the different pathways used in the production of triazoles. A detailed analysis of recent research indicates that triazole compounds have a potential range of pharmacological activities, including the ability to inhibit enzymes, and have antibacterial, anticancer, and antifungal activities. The integration of computational and experimental methods provides a thorough understanding of the structure-activity connection, promoting sensible drug design and optimization. By including triazoles as essential components in drug discovery, researchers can further explore and innovate in the synthesis, biological assessment, and computational studies of triazoles as drugs, exploring the potential therapeutic significance of triazoles.

Rapid and ecofriendly UPLC quantification of Remdesivir, Favipiravir and Dexamethasone for accurate therapeutic drug monitoring in Covid-19 Patient's plasma

Innovative therapeutic protocols to the rapidly spreading coronavirus disease (COVID19) epidemic is highly required all across the world. As demonstrated by clinical studies, Favipiravir (FVP) and Remdesivir (REM) are new antiviral medicines that are effective against COVID-19. REM is the first FDA approved antiviral medicine against COVID-19. In addition to antivirals, corticosteroids such as dexamethasone (DEX), and anticoagulants such as apixaban (PX) are used in multidrug combinations protocols. This work develops and validates simple and selective screening of the four medicines of COVID -19 therapeutic protocol. FVP, REM, DEX, and PX as internal standard in human plasma using UPLC method by C18 column and methanol, acetonitrile, and water acidified by orthophosphate (pH = 4) in a ratio of (15: 35: 50, by volume) as an eluate flowing at 0.3 mL/min. The eluent was detected at 240 nm. The method was linear over (0.1-10 μg/mL) for each of FVP, REM, and DEX. The validation of the UPLC method was assessed in accordance with FDA guidelines. The method can detect as low as down to 0.1 μg/mL for all. The recoveries of the drugs in spiked human plasma ranged from 97.67 to 102.98 percent. Method accuracy and precision were assessed and the drugs showed good stability. The method was proven to be green to the environment after greenness checking by greenness profile and Eco-Scale tool.

RdRp (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase): A key target providing anti-virals for the management of various viral diseases

With the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, anti-viral agents have regained center stage in the arena of medicine. Out of the various drug targets involved in managing RNA-viral infections, the one that dominates almost all RNA viruses is RdRp (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase). RdRp are proteins that are involved in the replication of RNA-based viruses. Inhibition of RdRps has been an integral approach for managing various viral infections such as dengue, influenza, HCV (Hepatitis), BVDV, etc. Inhibition of the coronavirus RdRp is currently rigorously explored for the treatment of Covid-19 related complications. So, keeping in view the importance and current relevance of this drug target, we have discussed the importance of RdRp in developing anti-viral agents against various viral diseases. Different reported inhibitors have also been discussed, and emphasis has been laid on highlighting the inhibitor's pharmacophoric features and SAR profile.

In silico validation of anti-viral drugs obtained from marine sources as a potential target against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro

COVID-19 caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has threatened the whole world affecting almost 243 million people globally. Originating from China, it has now spread worldwide with USA and India being the two most affected countries which emphasizes the immense potential of the coronaviruses to cause severity in the human population. This study validates the efficacy of some marine antiviral agents to target the viral main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 by in silico studies. A total of 14 marine-derived antiviral agents were screened from several databases including PubChem and DrugBank and docked against the crystallised 3D structure of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. MD simulation of the top two ligands was carried out for 100 ns to validate the protein-ligand stability. Later, their physicochemical, pharmacokinetics, and drug-likeness properties were evaluated and toxicity prediction was performed using eMOLTOX webtool. We found that all the 14 compounds are acting as a good target for Mpro. Among them, avarol and AcDa-1 procured the best docking results with the estimated docking score of −8.05 and −7.74 ​kcal/mol respectively. MD simulation revealed good conformational stability. The docked conformation was visualised and subsequent ligand-amino acid interactions were analysed. Avarol revealed good pharmacokinetic properties with oral bioavailability. The overall finding suggested that these marine compounds may have the potential to be used for the treatment of COVID-19 to tackle this pandemic.