ABSTRACT
Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared the outbreak and spread of the new strain of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS--CoV-2) a global pandemic. In this regard, a lot of scientific investigations and clinical trials on some existing antiviral and antibiotic drugs have been ongoing to combat this menace. Method(s): In the past, conventional drug therapy has shown irregular drug distribution, poor solubil-ity, and low permeability to target cells, organs, and tissues. However, Chloroquine, Hydrox-ychloroquine Remdesivir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, etc. have attracted several investigations in mono-therapeutic approaches and a combination of therapy have shown promising effects in reducing viral loading in some SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Nevertheless, the advent of nanomedicine has triggered serious attention on drug-loaded nanoparticle as nanocarriers to deliver bioactive drug molecules to target organs with increased circulation and controlled release. Therefore, the application of nanoparticles as nanocarriers for the controlled release of antiviral drugs would improve the ease of drug administration and care of patients admitted at various health care facilities world-wide. Conclusion(s): Owing to their small sizes, biocompatibility, and high encapsulation properties, nano-particles can be utilized as potential nanocarrier of antiviral drugs for the SARS-CoV-2 management at a reduced cost with minimal side effect in the body system. In addition, some noticeable concerns on the ongoing management of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in developing nations have been presented for concerted attention.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.
ABSTRACT
While repurposed drugs came in handy earlier in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, vaccination has been considered a more sustainable approach. The recent spikes have been linked to "double," "triple," and even multi-mutant variants, thus renewing calls for deeper structural and functional insights of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a lead to rationale design of therapeutics, vaccines, and point-of-care diagnostics. There is a repertoire of findings from the earliest SARS-CoV-2 molecular mimicry to evade host immunity cum host immune responses to the role of the viral glycocalyx in modulating the susceptibility and severity of infection through attraction and repulsive interactions. Recently, molecular studies of some viral components that aid infection in the face of vaccination seem unending. In addition, the wave of infections and the attendant case fatality ratios have necessitated the need for emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines and in vitro diagnostics. This review provides key updates of SARS-CoV-2, current antigenic and formulation strategies, with emergency use authorizations considerations for future vaccine candidates and diagnostics. We also premise that despite the difficulty in modeling and analyzing glycans, understanding and exploiting their roles in the SARS-CoV-2 architecture is fundamental to glycan-based COVID-19 vaccines devoid of inconsistent clinical outcomes.