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Viruses
Special Issues
Natural, Semisynthetic, and Synthetic Antiviral Drugs Targeting HIV and SARS-CoV-2
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Natural, Semisynthetic, and Synthetic Antiviral Drugs Targeting HIV and SARS-CoV-2

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 1797

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Otávio Augusto Chaves

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Chemistry, Coimbra Chemistry Centre, Institute of Molecular Sciences (CQC-IMS), University of Coimbra, Rua Larga s/n, Coimbra 3004-535, Portugal
2. Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil
Interests: viral evolution; drug design; drug development; synthesis; natural products; repurposing drugs; chemico-biological interactions; preclinical models; enzymology; in silico calculations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carlos Serpa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Coimbra Chemistry Centre, Institute of Molecular Sciences (CQC-IMS), University of Coimbra, Rua Larga s/n, Coimbra 3004-535, Portugal
Interests: virus-host interactions; photo-responsive compounds; photodynamic therapy; biophysical analysis; spectroscopy; high-throughput screening
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Viruses cause massive public health concerns, mainly due to their mutagenesis, which might result in spillovers, escape of the humoral response, and drug resistance. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are two distinct viruses that cause different diseases and have various modes of action, transmission, and impact on human health. The first one is a respiratory virus of the genus betacoronavirus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; severe cases of this condition may require hospitalization), while the other is a retrovirus belonging to the genus lentivirus that might cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, which leads to opportunistic infections and cancers if left untreated). While HIV/AIDS remains a chronic, manageable condition with ongoing prevention and treatment efforts, SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted the acute need for rapid response and vaccination to control a pandemic. Since both HIV and SARS-CoV-2 have had profound impacts on global health, albeit in different ways, advances in medicine and public health continue to evolve in response to these viruses, aiming to reduce transmission, morbidity, and mortality associated with these infectious diseases.

In this sense, to achieve an up-to-date point of view of antiviral development to target HIV or SARS-CoV-2, this Special Issue focuses on the recent scientific and technical progress made in medicinal chemistry. Based on your extensive knowledge and experience, we are pleased to invite you to contribute original research articles to promote and highlight the discovery and importance of antivirals through multidisciplinary tasks involving (but not limited to) virology, biophysics, biochemistry, biology, and chemistry. Review articles are also welcome, especially those describing trends and challenges in antiviral discovery, biophysical characterization of the interaction target antivirals, antiviral mechanisms, and analytical chemistry applied to virology.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Otávio Augusto Chaves
Dr. Carlos Serpa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antiviral design and discovery
  • natural product screening
  • natural products as a scaffold for semisynthetic antivirals
  • repurposing drugs
  • high-throughput screening
  • antiviral resistance
  • biophysical characterization of the interaction between antivirals and targets
  • combination of light and photosensitizers in antiviral discovery
  • cell-based and in vivo assays
  • in silico calculations

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2214 KiB  
Article
New Insights into Antiviral Natural Formulations: Biopolymeric Films for the Prevention and Treatment of a Wide Gamma of Viral Infections
by Victoria Belén Ayala-Peña, Ana Karen Jaimes, Ana Lucía Conesa, Cybele Carina García, Claudia Soledad Sepulveda, Fernando Gaspar Dellatorre, Ezequiel Latour, Nora Marta Andrea Ponce, Vera Alejandra Álvarez and Verónica Leticia Lassalle
Viruses 2025, 17(2), 216; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17020216 - 1 Feb 2025
Viewed by 202
Abstract
Viral infections remain a major concern, as existing treatments often yield inadequate responses or lead to the development of antiviral resistance in some cases. Fucoidan extracted from Undaria pinnatifida (F) is a natural sulphated polysaccharide that exhibits antiviral action. Despite its potential, the [...] Read more.
Viral infections remain a major concern, as existing treatments often yield inadequate responses or lead to the development of antiviral resistance in some cases. Fucoidan extracted from Undaria pinnatifida (F) is a natural sulphated polysaccharide that exhibits antiviral action. Despite its potential, the biomedical application of F is limited due to its difficult administration through trans-mucosal, skin, or oral ingestion. The most effective way to solve these problems is to propose novel methods of administration aiming to ensure better contact between the biopolymers and pathogens, leading to their inactivation. In this work, the synthesis of films based on chitosan (Ch)-coupled F is reported, aiming to generate a synergic effect between both biopolymers in terms of their antiviral and antioxidant capability. Biocomposites were prepared by a sonochemical method. They were characterized to infer structural properties, functionality, and possible F-Ch interactions by using Zeta potential, FTIR, and XRD techniques. The biocomposites showed excellent film-forming ability. They also exhibited improved antioxidant activity with respect to F and Ch individually and proved to be non-cytotoxic. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the antiviral activity of F:Ch biocomposites against bovine coronavirus and human viruses (adenovirus, poliovirus, herpes simplex, and respiratory syncytial virus), which could be applied in film form to prevent or treat viral infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural, Semisynthetic, and Synthetic Antiviral Drugs Targeting HIV and SARS-CoV-2)
20 pages, 2550 KiB  
Article
Benzocarbazoledinones as SARS-CoV-2 Replication Inhibitors: Synthesis, Cell-Based Studies, Enzyme Inhibition, Molecular Modeling, and Pharmacokinetics Insights
by Luana G. de Souza, Eduarda A. Penna, Alice S. Rosa, Juliana C. da Silva, Edgar Schaeffer, Juliana V. Guimarães, Dennis M. de Paiva, Vinicius C. de Souza, Vivian Neuza S. Ferreira, Daniel D. C. Souza, Sylvia Roxo, Giovanna B. Conceição, Larissa E. C. Constant, Giovanna B. Frenzel, Matheus J. N. Landim, Maria Luiza P. Baltazar, Celimar Cinézia Silva, Ana Laura Macedo Brand, Julia Santos Nunes, Tadeu L. Montagnoli, Gisele Zapata-Sudo, Marina Amaral Alves, Diego Allonso, Priscila V. Z. Capriles Goliatt, Milene D. Miranda and Alcides J. M. da Silvaadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Viruses 2024, 16(11), 1768; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16111768 - 13 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1238
Abstract
Endemic and pandemic viruses represent significant public health challenges, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality over time. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgent need for the development and discovery of new, potent antiviral agents. In this study, we present the synthesis and [...] Read more.
Endemic and pandemic viruses represent significant public health challenges, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality over time. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgent need for the development and discovery of new, potent antiviral agents. In this study, we present the synthesis and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of a series of benzocarbazoledinones, assessed using cell-based screening assays. Our results indicate that four compounds (4a, 4b, 4d, and 4i) exhibit EC50 values below 4 μM without cytotoxic effects in Calu-3 cells. Mechanistic investigations focused on the inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro) have used enzymatic assays. Notably, compounds 4a and 4b showed Mpro inhibition activity with IC50 values of 0.11 ± 0.05 and 0.37 ± 0.05 µM, respectively. Furthermore, in silico molecular docking, physicochemical, and pharmacokinetic studies were conducted to validate the mechanism and assess bioavailability. Compound 4a was selected for preliminary drug-likeness analysis and in vivo pharmacokinetics investigations, which yielded promising results and corroborated the in vitro and in silico findings, reinforcing its potential as an anti-SARS-CoV-2 lead compound. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural, Semisynthetic, and Synthetic Antiviral Drugs Targeting HIV and SARS-CoV-2)
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