Metadichol®, A Novel Nano Lipid Formulation that Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 and a Multitude of Pathological Viruses in Vitro

Abstract

Background New pathogenic virus outbreaks, occurring with increasing regularity, are leading us to explore novel approaches, which will reduce the reliance on time-consuming vaccine modes to halt the outbreaks. The requirement is to nd a universal approach to disarm any new and as yet unknown viruses as they appear. A promising approach could be targeting lipid membranes, which are common to all viruses and bacteria. The ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) has rea rmed the importance of interactions between components of the host cell plasma membrane and the virus envelope as a critical mechanism of infection. Metadichol®, a nano lipid emulsion, has been examined and shown to be a strong candidate to help stop the proliferation of SARS-COV-2. Naturally derived substances, such as long-chain saturated lipid alcohols, reduce the infectivity of various types of viruses, including coronaviruses such as SARS-COV-2, by modifying lipid-dependent attachment to human host cells. SARS-COV-2 uses the receptor ACE2 for entry and the serine protease TMPRSS2 for S protein priming. Methods Metadichol was tested against TMPRSS2 ana ACE2 invitro using commercial available kits. Also it was tested against the live virus in Caco2 cells to test for inhibition of viral replication of SARS-COV-2. Results Metadichol®, a nano lipid formulation of long-chain alcohols, has been shown to inhibit TMPRSS2 (EC50 96 ng/ml). Compared to the inhibitor camostat mesylate (EC50 26000 ng/ml), it is 270 times more potent. Additionally, Metadichol® is also a weak inhibitor of ACE2 at 31 µg/ml. Further a live virus assay in Caco2 cells, Metadichol® inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication with an EC90 of 0.16 µg/ml. Conclusions Metadichol inhibits SARS-COV-2 virus and since it a non toxic molecule can be easily tested in humans and as it has LD 50 of over 5000 mg/kilo and could help mitigate the crisis facing the world today.

Kobophenol A Inhibits Binding of Host ACE2 Receptor with Spike RBD Domain of SARS-CoV-2, a Lead Compound for Blocking COVID-19

“…To date, there have been a few in silico attempts to find small molecule inhibitors of the interaction between ACE2 and spike S1-RBD. − Cao et al, de novo designed sequences of a few amino acid . Raghavan et al, reported ACE2 inhibition by Metadichol . Chowdhury et al, reported the hACE2 inhibitory activity of 15 antiviral peptides containing aromatic nonpolar, and polar amino acids along with their SAR studies.…”