Molecular Docking Studies of SARS-Cov-2 Mainprotease Potential Inhibitors

Abstract

BACKGROUND : SARS-Cov-2 causes an coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the vaccines or drugs of this disease have not been found to inhibit this replication of the virus. Researchers are engaged in all fields of study to discover new potential inhibitors. This study aimed to compute the binding energy (BE) and interactions between the new potential inhibitors and the SARS-Cov-2 Mainprotease (Mpro).METHODS: In this study, we docked between twenty-seven patented drugs and the Mpro receptor (PDB ID: 6W63). The molecular docking calculation was performed using AutoDock Tools 1.5.6. software. Moreover, the information about the biological activity of ligands was calculated using the PASS online server. The result of the calculation was then analyzed and visualized using Biovia Discovery Studio Visualizer. Further calculation, such as the ligand-protein interaction using STITCH database and Lipinski’s rule five were employed in this research.RESULTS: The molecular docking calculation results showed that nelfinavir was strongly bound to Mpro with BE of -9,51 kcal/mol, followed by lopinavir, vitamin D, ritonavir, and dexamethasone. From these ligands, we considered dexamethasone because this ligand works as an anti-inflammatory agent. CONCLUSIONS: Following the calculation, nelfinavir, lopinavir, and dexamethasone are proposed as a potential inhibitor of the Mpro receptor, but there is a need for further investigation.