Targeting SARS-CoV-2 main protease: structure based virtual screening, in silico ADMET studies and molecular dynamics simulation for identification of potential inhibitors

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has created a healthcare crisis across the world and has put human life under life-threatening circumstances. The recent discovery of the crystallized structure of the main protease (Mpro) from SARS-CoV-2 has provided an opportunity for utilizing computational tools as an effective method for drug discovery. Targeting viral replication has remained an effective strategy for drug development. Mpro of SARS-COV-2 is the key protein in viral replication as it is involved in the processing of polyproteins to various structural and nonstructural proteins. Thus, Mpro represents a key target for the inhibition of viral replication specifically for SARS-CoV-2. We have used a virtual screening strategy by targeting Mpro against a library of commercially available compounds to identify potential inhibitors. After initial identification of hits by molecular docking-based virtual screening further MM/GBSA, predictive ADME analysis, and molecular dynamics simulation were performed. The virtual screening resulted in the identification of twenty-five top scoring structurally diverse hits that have free energy of binding (ΔG) values in the range of −26-06 (for compound AO-854/10413043) to −59.81 Kcal/mol (for compound 329/06315047). Moreover, the top-scoring hits have favorable AMDE properties as calculated using in silico algorithms. Additionally, the molecular dynamics simulation revealed the stable nature of protein-ligand interaction and provided information about the amino acid residues involved in binding. Overall, this study led to the identification of potential SARS-CoV-2 Mpro hit compounds with favorable pharmacokinetic properties. We believe that the outcome of this study can help to develop novel Mpro inhibitors to tackle this pandemic. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma