A team of researchers at Faridabad-based Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) led by Dr Avinash Bajaj has initiated a study to engineer virucidal coatings to prevent the Covid-19 transmission.
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Key-Points
The study includes antimicrobial molecules that can target the membranes of microorganisms selectively.
The molecules that will target the membranes of COVID-19 viral particles selectively will be developed.
These molecules will be used to develop different surfaces including glass, plastic, and textiles including cotton, nylon, and polyester to provide a virucidal coating that can potentially inhibit the viral transmission.
The researchers also initiated efforts to purify the Nonstructural protein 12 (nsp12) protein to develop high throughput plate assays. It can be used to identify different inhibitors of the protein. These inhibitors are serving as lead molecules for the development of drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Researchers are to identify possible inhibitors of two other proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus using computational tools. These include Nonstructural protein 14 (nsp14), which has a methyltransferase and exoribonuclease activity, and nsp13 which has an RNA helicase activity.