Affiliation:
1. Department of Zoology, Government College University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
2. Department of Zoology, University of Okara, Okara 56300, Pakistan
Abstract
COVID-19 outbreak has hit the world worst at the start of 2020, as of December 11,
2020, more than 1.5 million people have died and more than 68.8 million people have been infected
globally. SARS-CoV-2 induces mild to severe progressive respiratory pneumonia, leading to failure
of different body organs and ultimately death. Hitherto, there are no specific and potential therapeutic
agents available against the virus. The spike protein is a type I surface glycoprotein facilitating
entry of the virus into the host cell via hACE2 receptors. The two subunits of the spike protein have a
polybasic link as cleavage site (PRAR) in SARS-CoV-2, with an additional attachment of O-linked
glycans. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have 76.5% similarity in amino acid sequences. The pathogenesis
and viral entry of SARS-CoV-2 are different from SARS-CoV, therefore, it is a dire need of
time to develop a target-based treatment. Alternative strategies and multidisciplinary research approaches
are crucial for developing new antiviral and improved therapies against COVID-19.
Nanotechnology has opened new horizons for evaluating the biological properties and efficacy of
different materials having a biological origin, such as Nigella sativa. It contains various active
components such as thymoquinone, thymol, thymohydroquinone, and dithymoquinone with different
biological potentials. Metallic nanomaterials have been reported to exhibit antiviral activities
against various strains. Understanding molecular interactions and modifying the surface properties
of nanomaterials with optimum activity may result in the development of novel antiviral therapies.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Drug Discovery,Pharmaceutical Science,Molecular Medicine