Our results showed that MGO has potent inhibitory activity against influenza viruses and also enhanced the effect of NA inhibitors. Thus, the co-administration of MGO and NA inhibitors should be considered for treatment of influenza virus infections.
An emerging coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is the causative agent for the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has caused a worldwide social and economic disruption. Currently, no antiviral drugs with proven clinical efficacy, or vaccines for its prevention. Therefore, to combat the pandemic of this novel coronavirus, new effective treatments are urgently needed. In the process of traditional drug development, developing new drugs from scratch is a timeconsuming process, requires high-investment, and is a high-risk process, which is impractical to face the immediate global challenge of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Drug repurposing strategy is one of the effective ways to quickly find a therapeutic agent for COVID-19 Existing medicines, which already have been tested and proven safe in humans might work for COVID-19 offering a potentially faster approach for the disease management. Here, we review h the latest research progress in epidemiology, viral genome, and life cycles of SARS-CoV-2. Further, we describe and discuss some promising drugs repurposed to target SARS-CoV-2 that are being evaluated in clinical trials.
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) are commonly prepared by co-precipitation, a convenient and high yield producing method. However, this method produces large particles and wide size distribution. Thus, this study aims to optimize and determine the processing condition during the direct co-precipitation synthesis of citrate stabilized SPION (SPION-C). Processing conditions were optimized to achieve the suitable hydrodynamic size and zeta potential; measured straight after preparation, at weeks 3, 10, and 30. Characterization of optimized SPION and SPION-C was done by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The optimized processing condition (stirring speed of 9000 rpm, stabilizer concentration of 1.006 M, and a 90oC stabilizer adsorption temperature), resulted in suitable SPION-C with a hydrodynamic size of 25.58 ± 7 nm, and zeta potential value of -50.8 ± 3.9. Particles with an almost sphere morphology with below 20 nm size were shown by TEM. The XRD analysis presented magnetite phase with a 2.79 nm core size which indicated the formation of stabilized SPION. The maximum excitation and emission wavelength of SPION after stabilization were proved to be uninterrupted by fluorescence spectroscopy. Further FTIR results supported the successful conjugation of citrate onto SPION. Highly stable and crystalline SPION-C were successfully produced through an optimized processing condition using direct co-precipitation. The obtained SPION-C conveyed desired nanoparticle size with narrow size distribution and stability for 30 weeks of storage at 4oC.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample and bacteria preparationAzadirachta indica were obtained from Jatiluhur Village, West Java, Indonesia. Leaves parts were used in this study. Prior to experiment, the leaves were determined by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Bogor, followed by drying and grinded into powder form.
Nucleoside analogue antiviral remdesivir works by inhibiting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase enzyme and terminating the viral replication. Currently, remdesivir is under a clinical trial for its activity against SARS-CoV-2. In the blood, remdesivir will undergo an enzymatic reaction to become monophosphate analogue form which is difficult to penetrate into the cell membrane. PAMAM (polyamidoamine) dendrimer is a good carrier to encapsulate remdesivir as a water-insoluble drug (0,339 mg/mL). Entrapment of remdesivir in the PAMAM cavity avoided remdesivir molecules to not undergo the enzymatic reactions. This study aimed to synthesize, characterize and evaluate cellular uptake of PAMAM-Remdesivir conjugate. PAMAM-Remdesivir was prepared with various stirring times (3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours). The conjugates were characterized to observe the size and particle distribution using Particle Size Analyzer, encapsulating efficiency using UV-Vis Spectroscopy, interaction between PAMAM and remdesivir particle using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and cellular uptake of PAMAM-RDV using Fluorescence Microscope. The optimized stirring time of PAMAM-Remdesivir conjugate was 24 hours wich resulted the particles charge of + 23,07 mV of zeta potential, 1008 nm of particle size, 0,730 of PDI, and 69% entrapment efficiency. In addition, the FTIR analysis showed that remdesivir molecules successfully conjugated to PAMAM. Thus, through strring optimization time, the remdesivir molecules were successfully entrapped to PAMAM cavity. The cellular uptake in Vero Cell of PAMAM-RDV conjugated fluorescein isothiocyanate was observed with fluorescence microscope and had a stronger intensity than remdesivir only solution.
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