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Antiviral compounds

Many viral infections cannot be specifically treated or prevented by vaccines. Not only newly emerging viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, pose a challenge for science in this regard. For a large number of viruses, even years or decades after their discovery, no suitable medications or vaccines are available. This is especially true for viruses that can lead to lifelong infections, such as the herpes simplex virus, human immunodeficiency virus, or hepatitis B viruses. So far, no effective medications exist to fully cure infected individuals of these infections. Further, some viruses like coronaviruses or influenza viruses constantly change their genetic material through mutations or recombination. As a result, initially effective antiviral compounds or vaccines can become ineffective against new variants. Due to the constant emergence of new viruses or virus variants, the continuous development and testing of highly effective antiviral drugs are particularly important.

The Platform Infection Models focuses on testing new substances and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of viral infections. Various cell culture and animal models are available to test the effectiveness of antiviral agents.

Antiviral inhibitors interfere at various points of the viral replication cycle and ideally prevent viral replication completely, without having a detrimental effect on the host cells. To determine the effect of an antiviral substance, cell cultures or experimental animals are first treated with the substance and then infected (prophylaxis), or first infected and then treated afterward (therapy), depending on the research question. The viral titer is determined after a particular timespan either by titration or quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The more effective the substance, the lower the viral titer.

Selected publications

  • Design, Synthesis, and Unprecedented Interactions of Covalent Dipeptide-Based Inhibitors of SARS-CoV‑2 Main Protease and Its Variants Displaying Potent Antiviral Activity.

    J Med Chem. 2025 Jan 15. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c02254. - DOI -
  • Nonpeptidic Irreversible Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease with Potent Antiviral Activity.

    J Med Chem. 2024 Sep 12;67(17):14986-15011 - DOI -
  • Cathepsin-Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity.

    ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. 2024 Jan 19;7(2):493-514 - DOI -
  • Development of novel ligands against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro enzyme: an in silico and in vitro Study.

    Mol Inform. 2023 Nov;42(11):e202300120 - DOI -
  • Discovery of Polyphenolic Natural Products as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Inhibitors for COVID-19.

    Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2023 Jan 28;16(2):190 - DOI -