The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) urgently needs an effective cure. 3CL protease (3CLpro) is a highly conserved cysteine proteinase that is indispensable for coronavirus replication, providing an attractive target for developing broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. Here we describe the discovery of myricetin, a flavonoid found in many food sources, as a non-peptidomimetic and covalent inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. Crystal structures of the protease bound with myricetin and its derivatives unexpectedly revealed that the pyrogallol group worked as an electrophile to covalently modify the catalytic cysteine. Kinetic and selectivity characterization together with theoretical calculations comprehensively illustrated the covalent binding mechanism of myricetin with the protease and demonstrated that the pyrogallol can serve as an electrophile warhead. Structure-based optimization of myricetin led to the discovery of derivatives with good antiviral activity and the potential of oral administration. These results provide detailed mechanistic insights into the covalent mode of action by pyrogallol-containing natural products and a template for design of non-peptidomimetic covalent inhibitors against 3CLpros, highlighting the potential of pyrogallol as an alternative warhead in design of targeted covalent ligands.

Recent advances in mass spectrometers which have yielded higher resolution and faster scanning speeds have expanded their application in metabolomics of diverse diseases. Using a quadrupole-Orbitrap LC-MS system, we developed an efficient large-scale quantitative method targeting 237 metabolites involved in various metabolic pathways using scheduled, parallel reaction monitoring (PRM). We assessed the dynamic range, linearity, reproducibility, and system suitability of the PRM assay by measuring concentration curves, biological samples, and clinical serum samples. The quantification performances of PRM and MS1-based assays in Q-Exactive were compared, and the MRM assay in QTRAP 6500 was also compared. The PRM assay monitoring 237 polar metabolites showed greater reproducibility and quantitative accuracy than MS1-based quantification and also showed greater flexibility in postacquisition assay refinement than the MRM assay in QTRAP 6500. We present a workflow for convenient PRM data processing using Skyline software which is free of charge. In this study we have established a reliable PRM methodology on a quadrupole-Orbitrap platform for evaluation of large-scale targeted metabolomics, which provides a new choice for basic and clinical metabolomics study.

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Three highly porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with a uniform rht-type topological network but hierarchical pores were successfully constructed by the assembly of triazole-containing dendritic hexacarboxylate ligands with Zn(II) ions. These transparent MOF crystals present gradually increasing pore sizes upon extension of the length of the organic backbone, as clearly identified by structural analysis and gas-adsorption experiments. The inherent accessibility of the pores to large molecules endows these materials with unique properties for the uptake of large guest molecules. The visible selective adsorption of dye molecules makes these MOFs highly promising porous materials for pore-size-dependent large-molecule capture and separation.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae spores are dormant cells, which can tolerate various types of environmental stress. In our previous work, we successfully developed biological and chemical methods for enzyme immobilization based on the structures of S. cerevisiae spore wall. In this study, we employed biological and chemical approaches for the immobilization of D-xylose isomerase (XI) from Thermus thermophilus and D-psicose 3-epimerase (DPEase) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens with yeast spores, respectively. The enzymatic properties of both immobilized XI and DPEase were characterized and the immobilized enzymes exhibit higher thermostability, broader pH tolerance, and good repeatability compared with free enzymes. Furthermore, we established a two-step approach for the bioconversion of D-glucose to D-psicose using immobilized enzymes. To improve the conversion yield, a multi-pot strategy was adopted for D-psicose production by repeating the two-step process continually. As a result, the yield of D-psicose was obviously improved and the highest yield reached about 12.0 %.

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Stimuli-responsive molecular containers are of great importance for controlled drug delivery and other biomedical applications. A new type of acid labile acyclic cucurbit[n]uril (CB[n]) molecular containers is presented that can degrade and release the encapsulated cargo at accelerated rates under mildly acidic conditions (pH 5.5-6.5). These containers retain the excellent recognition properties of CB[n]-type hosts. A cell culture study demonstrated that the cellular uptake of cargos could be fine-tuned by complexation with different containers. The release and cell uptake of cargo dye was promoted by acidic pH.

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