2023
Volume 23, Number 4, pp. 128-129
Elementary biophysics and anti-Covid-19 drug design
P.A. Grigoriev
Institute of Biophysics, Russian Academy of Science, 142290 Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia
Knowledge of basic physicochemical interactions between lipid bilayer membranes—data accumulated during almost half a century—can be used for designing new active antivirus drug molecules, or selecting from those already available for diagnostic tests. The phospholipid bilayer is the main part both of the host cell membrane and of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus. The high positive potential inside the hydrophobic region of the bilayer is a barrier for the penetration of positively charged organic molecules. Therefore, it is here suggested that a drug supplying positive charges to the virus surface should prevent it from entering the host cell.