In-silico screening to delineate novel antagonists to SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein.

Since its inception, SARS-CoV-2 has crossed all borders and continues rampaging around the globe, causing profound economic damage and heavy burden on the scientific community and the healthcare fraternity and facilities. With the emergence of new variants, the global pandemic has prolonged and raised concerns regarding the existing therapies. Most of the identified mutants have the potential to exacerbate the already existing crisis. In line with the urgent need for promising antivirals against the novel coronavirus, we conducted an in-silico drug docking study using SeeSAR and other bioinformatics tools and identified prospective molecules that target the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2. The highly conserved N protein plays a crucial role in viral assembly and pathogenicity by interacting with the host ribosomal subunits and suppressing nonsense mediated decay (NMD) of viral mRNA by the host cell. In the current study, FDA approved drugs were docked into pockets created within the N protein including the crucial conserved residues and analyzed for their affinity. The docked compounds give us novel plausible models that can be inspected further and paves way for the development of potent therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2.

Recent advances in the diagnosis of COVID-19: a bird's eye view.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic is still escalating and has shaped an extraordinary and pressing need for rapid diagnostics with high sensitivity and specificity. Prompt diagnosis is the key to mitigate this situation. As several diagnostic tools for COVID-19 are already available and others are still under development, mandating a comprehensive review of the efficacy of existing tools and evaluate the potential of others. AREAS COVERED: Currently explored platforms for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics and surveillance centered on qRT-PCR, RT-PCR, CRISPR, microarray, LAMP, lateral flow immunoassays, proteomics-based approaches, and radiological scans are overviewed and summarized in this review along with their advantages and downsides. A narrative literature review was carried out by accessing the freely available online databases to encapsulate the developments in medical diagnostics. EXPERT OPINION: An ideal detection method should be sensitive, specific, rapid, cost-effective, and should allow early diagnosis of the infection as near as possible to the point of care that could alter the current situation for the better. Medical diagnostics is a highly dynamic field as no diagnostic method available for SARS-CoV-2 detection offers a perfect solution and requires more attention and continuous R&D to challenge the present-day pandemic situation.