Coronaviruses: Molecular Modeling and Docking Studies of Potential Drug Candidates Showing Anti-Covid-19 Activity

Abstract

The coronaviruses, which have threatened human health since 1937, have today brought the global epidemic to a different dimension with new mutations. With the development of technology, scientists from all over the world have started to look for ways to destroy or reduce this virus, both by vaccines and existing drugs. Treatment for this viral infection include either to develop an antiviral molecule that stops protein synthesis or to produce antibodies against pathogens. Especially the vaccines that are developed now have been carried out by producing antibodies against pathogens. The general rationale in drug research is to prevent the virus from attaching to 60the cell by creating a change in the cell surface where the drug molecule attaches with the COVID-19 virus. For this purpose, it is necessary to know the genome sequences of the virus well. The emergence of new mutations of the new type of coronavirus has intensified the research of scientists toward determining the nucleotide sequences of new mutations well and developing more effective vaccines and drug molecules. Molecular simulations play a key role in the development of effective vaccines and drugs. In this chapter, the structure of the coronavirus, the drugs used in the treatment process, and the molecular modeling and molecular docking studies on the discovery of the effective molecule against the coronavirus are discussed.