Houston Texas USA The discovery of a small molecule that neutralises the SARSCoV2 virus which causes COVID19 could provide a new basis for medication to shorten the course of the virus after exposure to it according to a new study Researchers from the University of Houston UH US said that the molecule could provide immediate protection against viral infection and thus may be suitable for people across age groups particularly for highrisk and immunocompromised individuals who typically do not generate sufficient antibodies after vaccinationThe molecule worked unlike Pfizer s antiviral treatment Paxlovid which they said was only useful during the first three days of showing symptoms The discovery is described in the journal Biomedicines The molecule s discovery began at the height of the pandemic according to the study as the team of scientists screened 1509984 featurerich compounds in the UH Research Computing Data Core Our team is thrilled with the discovery of a small molecule therapeutic that inhibits the interaction between the spike protein of the COVID19 virus and the ACE2 receptor of the infected individual said Bradley McConnell professor at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy and in whose lab the discovery took placeAlso read New ultrathin sensor may help you detect Covid amp flu in just 10 secsIn the experimentation phase the team selected the top 15 molecules that disrupted the interaction between the spike protein and the ACE2 receptor Using molecular dynamic simulations they found favourable interactions between some of the compounds from the libraries and the spike protein s ACE receptor binding domain interface potentially neutralising the SARSCoV2 infectionThe molecule that formed the closest association was CD04872SC the study said We were able to experimentally observe that CD04872SC also inhibited the infection of the SARSCoV2 variants Delta and Omicron said ReyesAlcaraz the study s first author To demonstrate the binding between CD04872SC and the spike proteins of each variant we performed a thermal shift assay which measures changes in the thermal denaturation temperature serving as an indicator of the stability of a protein under varying conditions such as when bound by a drug pH ionic strength or sequence mutation said Craft associate professor in the Department of Biology and BiochemistryThe SARSCoV2 virus and its variants Delta and Omicron continue to be a major threat to patients of all ages The variants demonstrate how easily the virus can accommodate antigenic changes in its spike protein without the loss of fitness The Omicron variant has particularly stressed health care systems around the world Therefore identifying effective antiviral agents to combat this infectious disease is urgently needed said McConnell PTI