Broad-Spectrum Extracellular Antiviral Properties of Cucurbit[n]urils.
ACS Infect Dis
; 8(10): 2084-2095, 2022 Oct 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2076976
ABSTRACT
Viruses are microscopic pathogens capable of causing disease and are responsible for a range of human mortalities and morbidities worldwide. They can be rendered harmless or destroyed with a range of antiviral chemical compounds. Cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]s) are a family of macrocycle chemical compounds existing as a range of homologues; due to their structure, they can bind to biological materials, acting as supramolecular "hosts" to "guests", such as amino acids. Due to the increasing need for a nontoxic antiviral compound, we investigated whether cucurbit[n]urils could act in an antiviral manner. We have found that certain cucurbit[n]uril homologues do indeed have an antiviral effect against a range of viruses, including herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2. In particular, we demonstrate that CB[7] is the active homologue of CB[n], having an antiviral effect against enveloped and nonenveloped species. High levels of efficacy were observed with 5 min contact times across different viruses. We also demonstrate that CB[7] acts with an extracellular virucidal mode of action via host-guest supramolecular interactions between viral surface proteins and the CB[n] cavity, rather than via cell internalization or a virustatic mechanism. This finding demonstrates that CB[7] acts as a supramolecular virucidal antiviral (a mechanism distinct from other current extracellular antivirals), demonstrating the potential of supramolecular interactions for future antiviral disinfectants.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Macrocyclic Compounds
/
Disinfectants
/
COVID-19
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
ACS Infect Dis
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Acsinfecdis.2c00186
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