Massive X-ray screening identifies promising candidates for COVID drugs (VIDEO)
Caption
A team of researchers has identified several candidates for drugs against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 at DESY´s high-brilliance X-ray lightsource PETRA III. They bind to an important protein of the virus and could thus be the basis for a drug against Covid-19. In a so-called X-ray screening, the researchers tested almost 6000 known active substances that already exist for the treatment of other diseases. The team was able to identify a total of 37 substances that bind to the main protease (Mpro) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as the scientists report in the journal Science. Seven of these substances inhibit the activity of the protein and thus slow down the multiplication of the virus. Two of them do this so promisingly that they entered preclinical studies. This drug screening - probably the largest of its kind - also revealed a new binding site for active substances on the main protease of the virus.
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DESY, Liza Arbeiter
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