Covid-19: Scientists develop new means to inactivate virus

New Delhi: In a breakthrough development, scientists of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in collaboration with researchers from the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology developed a novel mechanism to inactivate COVID (SARS-CoV-2) virus by blocking their entry to cells and reducing infection ability.

According to a senior official in Ministry of Science and Technology, researchers reported the design of a new class of synthetic peptides that cannot only block the entry of the COVID (SARS-CoV-2) virus entry into cells but also clump the virions together, reducing their ability to infect.

This novel approach provides an alternative mechanism to render viruses like SARS-CoV-2 inactive, promising a new class of peptides as antivirals, the official said, adding that the rapid emergence of new strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has diminished the protection offered by Covid-19 vaccines calling for new approaches to prevent infection by the virus.

According to the ministry, IISc scientists have exploited this approach to design peptides that can bind to and block the spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 virus. This binding was further characterised extensively by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and other biophysical methods, it added.

The research was supported under the COVID-19 IRPHA call of SERB Science and Engineering Research Board, a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology.

The designed peptides are helical, hairpin-shaped, each capable of pairing up with another of its kind, forming what is known as a dimer.