Inhibitory activity of FDA approved Iron oxide nanoparticles on COVID-۱۹ main protease: A computational study

The pandemic caused by novel coronavirus disease ۲۰۱۹ (COVID-۱۹) infecting millions of populations worldwide and counting, has demanded quick and potential therapeutic strategies. Current approved drugs or molecules under clinical trials can be a good pool for repurposing through in-silico techniques to quickly identify promising drug candidates. In this work, we investigated the potential antiviral activity of Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe۲O۳ and Fe۳O۴) on SARS-CoV-۲ by molecular docking studies. Iron oxide nanoparticles were previously approved by the US food and drug administration (FDA) for anemia treatment and studies have also demonstrated its antiviral activity in vitro. Our models revealed that both Fe۲O۳ and Fe۳O۴ interacted efficiently with main protease of SARS-CoV-۲. We found that Fe۳O۴ formed a more stable complex with main protease of SARS-CoV-۲. We hope the present study should help workers in the field to develop potential vaccines and therapeutics against the novel coronavirus.

کلیدواژه ها:

Iron oxide nanoparticles ، COVID-۱۹ ، Main protease ، Molecular Docking.