An unexpected outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 caused a worldwide pandemic in 2020. Many repurposed drugs were utilized to possibly treat the symptoms of the virus, but there were no antiviral drugs available at the time that proved effective to treat COVID-19. Many repurposed antiviral drugs target the human enzymes and proteins that the virus needs to survive. This research will look at an alternative approach in which a repurposed drug will be optimized to attack a unique SARS-CoV-2 protein. The SARS-CoV-2 virus contains a viral protein encoded from an Open Reading Frame 8 (ORF8) which is a hypervariable gene that is rapidly evolving. Potential binding sites on the ORF8 protein were examined using POCASA (Pocket-Cavity Search Application). Data indicated that there was only one identified binding pocket on the ORF8 protein. Swissdock was used to dock potential ligands into the ORF8’s binding pocket. The focus of this study is to use both repurposed drugs as well as unique molecular scaffolds to determine the ligand with maximal binding interactions. Results describing ORF8 binding to potential ligands and their intermolecular forces will be presented.

The development of inhibitors for the SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 protein

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.