Module Assembly Research Articles

Enzymatic Synthesis of Disialyllacto-N-Tetraose (DSLNT) and Related Human Milk Oligosaccharides Reveals Broad Siglec Recognition of the Atypical Neu5Acα2-6GlcNAc Motif.

Sialic acids (Sias) are ubiquitously expressed on all types of glycans, typically as terminating residues. They usually link to galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine, or other Sia residues, forming ligands of many glycan-binding proteins. An atypical linkage to the C6 of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) has been identified in human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs, e.g., DSLNT) and tumor-associated glycoconjugates. Herein, describe the systematic synthesis of these HMOs in an enzymatic modular manner. The synthetic strategy relies on a novel activity of ST6GalNAc6 for efficient construction of the Neu5Acα2-6GlcNAc linkage, and another 12 specific enzyme modules for sequential HMO assembly. The structures enabled comprehensive exploration of their structure-function relationships using glycan microarrays, revealing broad yet distinct recognition by Siglecs of the atypical Neu5Acα2-6GlcNAc motif. The work provides tools and new insight for the functional study and potential applications of Siglecs and HMOs.

Detachable DNA Assembly Module to Dissect Tumor Cells Heterogeneity via RNA Pinpoint Screening.

Differential RNA expression is becoming increasingly valuable in evaluating tumor heterogeneity for a better understanding of malignant tumors and guiding personalized therapy. However, traditional techniques for analyzing cellular RNA are mainly focused on determining the absolute level of RNA, which may lead to inaccuracies in understanding tumor heterogeneity, primarily due to i) the subtle differences in certain RNA types that have similar total concentrations and ii) the existence of variations in RNA expression across different samples. Herein, a detachable DNA assembly module is proposed that is capable not only of quantifying the expression level of target RNA but also of innovatively evaluating its proportion within its RNA family population through a sequential assembly and disassembly route. Using the let-7 family as an experimental model, a significant difference is discovered in let-7a proportion between normal mammary epithelial cells and breast cancer cells, a characteristic that is often missed in bulk analysis of traditional techniques. By combining concentration and proportion information, the detachable DNA assembly module demonstrates markedly higher efficiency in discerning among various types of cells compared to traditional techniques. This innovative assembly module is expected to offer a new perspective to highlight tumor heterogeneity and guide personalized therapy.

Small Molecule Assembly Agonist Alters the Dynamics of Hepatitis B Virus Core Protein Dimer and Capsid.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) poses a significant public health burden worldwide, encouraging the search for curative antivirals. One approach is capsid assembly modulators (CAMs), which are assembly agonists. CAMs lead to empty and defective capsids, inhibiting the formation of new viruses, and can also lead to defects in the release of the viral genome, inhibiting new infections. In this study, we employed hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to assess the impact of one such CAM, HAP18, on HBV dimers, capsids composed of 120 (or 90) capsid protein dimers, and cross-linked capsids (xl-capsids). HDX analysis revealed hydrogen bonding networks within and between the dimers. HAP18 disrupted the hydrogen bonding network of dimers, demonstrating a previously unappreciated impact on the dimer structure. Conversely, HAP18 stabilized both unmodified and cross-linked capsids. Intriguingly, cross-linking the capsid, which was accomplished by forming disulfides between an engineered C-terminal cysteine, increased the overall rate of HDX. Moreover, HAP18 binding induced conformational changes beyond the binding sites. Our findings provide evidence for allosteric communication within and between capsid protein dimers. These results show that CAMs are capable of harnessing this allosteric network to modulate the dimer and capsid dynamics.

Hierarchical Assembly of High-Nuclearity Copper(I) Alkynide Nanoclusters: Highly Effective CO2 Electroreduction Catalyst toward Hydrocarbons.

The pursuit of precision in the engineering of metal nanoparticle assemblies has long fascinated scientists, but achieving atomic-level accuracy continues to pose a significant challenge. This research sheds light on the hierarchical assembly processes of two high-nuclearity Cu(I) nanoclusters (NCs). By employing a multiligand cooperative stabilization strategy, we have isolated a series of thiacalix[4]arene (TC4A)/alkynyl coprotected Cu(I) NCs (Cux, where x = 9, 13, 17, 22). These NCs are intricately coassembled from the fundamental building units of {Cu4(TC4A)} and alkynyl-stabilized Cu5L6 in various ratios. By capturing active anion templates such as O2-, Cl-, or C22- that are generated in situ, we have further explored the secondary structural self-assembly of these clusters. Cu13 serves as a secondary assembly module for constructing Cu38 and Cu43, which exhibit the highest nuclearity reported to date among Cu(I) NCs encased in macrocyclic ligands. Notably, Cu38 demonstrates an impressive Faradaic efficiency of 62.01% for hydrocarbons at -1.57 V vs RHE during CO2 electroreduction, with 34.03% for C2H4 and 27.98% for CH4. This performance establishes it as an exceptionally rare, large, atomically precise metal NC (nuclearity >30) capable of catalyzing the formation of highly electro-reduced hydrocarbon products. Our research has introduced a new approach for constructing high-nuclearity Cu(I) NCs through a hierarchical assembly method and investigating their potential in the electrocatalytic transformation of CO2 into hydrocarbons.

Predefined-time controller design for a multiple space transportation robots system based on Lp-Norm-Normalized Sign Function

This paper presents a predefined-time controller for Multiple Space transportation Robots System (MSRS), which can be applied in on-orbit assembly tasks to transport modules to pre-assembly configuration quickly. Firstly, to simplify the analysis and design of predefined-time controller, a Predefined-time Stability Criterion is proposed in the form of Composite Lyapunov Function (CLF-PSC). Besides simplicity, the CLF-PSC also has the advantage of less conservativeness due to utilization of initial state information. Secondly, a concept of Lp-Norm-Normalized Sign Function (LPNNSF) is proposed based on the CLF-PSC. Different from traditional norm-normalized sign function, the Lp-norm of LPNNSF can be selected arbitrarily according to practical control task requirements, which means that the proposed LPNNSF is more generalized and more convenient for calculation. Thirdly, a predefined-time disturbance observer and predefined-time controller are designed based on the LPNNSF. The observer has the property of predefined-time convergence to achieve quicker and more accurate estimation of the lumped disturbance. The controller has less control input and chattering phenomenon than traditional predefined-time controller. In addition, by introducing the observer into the controller, the closed-loop system enjoys high precision and strong robustness. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is verified by numerical simulations. By employing the controller, the MSRS can carry assembly modules to the desired pre-assembly configuration accurately within predefined time.

Electrostatic Interactions Dominate the Surface Assembly of Silicon‐Based Nanospheres on Carbon Nanofibers for Flexible Lithium‐Ion Batteries

AbstractThe construction of flexible freestanding silicon‐based electrodes eliminates the addition of inactive materials, improving the overall energy density, and effectively avoiding the disadvantage of active materials being easily separated from the collector due to the volume effect. However, many reports of flexible freestanding electrodes lack long‐term cycling stability. Here, 3 different silicon‐based freestanding electrodes are designed and find that the freestanding electrode with surface assembly dominated by electrostatic interactions can significantly improve long‐term cycling stability. Owing to better mechanical properties, this surface‐assembled electrode demonstrates unique flexibility. The conductive framework and unique void structure not only reveal the excellent lithium‐ion diffusion capability and charge‐transfer kinetics but also provide ample space for the volume expansion of the silicon‐based material, which endows electrodes with excellent electrochemical performance. With 2 folds, the capacity remains at 471 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles (0.5 A g−1). In addition, the as‐prepared flexible pouch cell maintains high capacity and cycling stability after folding, with an average capacity degradation of only 0.01% per cycle during 1000 cycles, highlighting its considerable potential in the development of flexible devices. Remarkably, such interfacial assembly on the fiber surface also enables the modulation of multilayer assembly.

Reconfigurable flexible assembly model and implementation for cross-category products

As the production orders are becoming multi-category and small-batch in the era of product personalization, these require frequent reconfiguration of reconfigurable flexible assembly system for cross-category products (RFAS-CCP). However, there is no suitable theoretical assembly model and systematic implementation framework. We first propose a five-element assembly model (FAM) for RFAS-CCP, i.e. product, process, resource, knowledge, and decision. The product, process, and resource element describe the objects, steps to be assembled, and the tools, fixtures, and other equipment used for assembly, respectively. The knowledge element is a form representation of various heterogeneous data, such as a knowledge graph. The decision element includes various assembly methods to achieve assembly automation, flexibility, and intelligence. Then, in order to standardize and easy the frequent reconfiguration process, we reorganize various decision methods into a three-phase systematic implementation framework according to which stage they are used: design, configuration, and operation phases. The design phase methods primarily design various assembly modules for a product family, forming an assembly resource library. The configuration phase methods primarily configure suitable assembly lines for a specific product in the product family. The operation phase methods monitor the status of the assembly line and ensures its stable operation through health management. Finally, the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed five-element assembly model and three-phase systematic implementation framework are experimented with a pressure reducing valve product.

Patterns of Fitness and Gene Expression Epistasis Generated by Beneficial Mutations in the rho and rpoB Genes of Escherichia coli during High-Temperature Adaptation.

Epistasis is caused by genetic interactions among mutations that affect fitness. To characterize properties and potential mechanisms of epistasis, we engineered eight double mutants that combined mutations from the rho and rpoB genes of Escherichia coli. The two genes encode essential functions for transcription, and the mutations in each gene were chosen because they were beneficial for adaptation to thermal stress (42.2 °C). The double mutants exhibited patterns of fitness epistasis that included diminishing returns epistasis at 42.2 °C, stronger diminishing returns between mutations with larger beneficial effects and both negative and positive (sign) epistasis across environments (20.0 °C and 37.0 °C). By assessing gene expression between single and double mutants, we detected hundreds of genes with gene expression epistasis. Previous work postulated that highly connected hub genes in coexpression networks have low epistasis, but we found the opposite: hub genes had high epistasis values in both coexpression and protein-protein interaction networks. We hypothesized that elevated epistasis in hub genes reflected that they were enriched for targets of Rho termination but that was not the case. Altogether, gene expression and coexpression analyses revealed that thermal adaptation occurred in modules, through modulation of ribonucleotide biosynthetic processes and ribosome assembly, the attenuation of expression in genes related to heat shock and stress responses, and with an overall trend toward restoring gene expression toward the unstressed state.

Conformationally Constrained Isoquinolinones as Orally Efficacious Hepatitis B Capsid Assembly Modulators.

Isoquinolinone-based HBV capsid assembly modulators that bind at the dimer:dimer interface of HBV core protein have been shown to suppress viral replication in chronic hepatitis B patients. Analysis of their binding mode by protein X-ray crystallography has identified a region of the small molecule where the application of a constraint can lock the preferred binding conformation and has allowed for further optimization of this class of compounds. Key analogues demonstrated single digit nM EC50 values in reducing HBV DNA in a HepDE19 cellular assay in addition to favorable ADME and pharmacokinetic properties, leading to a high degree of oral efficacy in a relevant in vivo hydrodynamic injection mouse model of HBV infection, with 12e effecting a 3 log10 decline in serum HBV DNA levels at a once daily dose of 1 mg/kg. Additionally, maintenance of activity was observed in clinically relevant HBV core protein variants T33N and I105T.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Disialyllacto‐N‐Tetraose (DSLNT) and Related Human Milk Oligosaccharides Reveals Broad Siglec Recognition to the Atypical Neu5Acα2‐6GlcNAc Motif

Sialic acids (Sias) are ubiquitously expressed on all types of glycans, typically as terminating residues. They usually link to galactose, N‐acetylgalactosamine, or other Sia residues, forming ligands of many glycan‐binding proteins. An atypical linkage to the C6 of N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) has been identified in human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs, e.g., DSLNT) and tumor‐associated glycoconjugates. Herein, we achieved the systematic synthesis of these HMOs in an enzymatic modular manner. The synthetic strategy relies on a novel activity of ST6GalNAc6 for efficient construction of the Neu5Acα2‐6GlcNAc linkage, and another 12 specific enzyme modules for sequential HMO assembly. The structures enabled comprehensive exploration into their structure‐function relationships using glycan microarray, revealing broad yet distinct recognitions by Siglecs to the atypical Neu5Acα2‐6GlcNAc motif. The work provides tools and new insights for functional study and potential applications of Siglecs and HMOs.

Preclinical and clinical antiviral characterization of AB-836, a potent capsid assembly modulator against hepatitis B virus

HBV capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) target the core protein and inhibit pregenomic RNA encapsidation and viral replication. HBV CAMs also interfere with cccDNA formation during de novo infection, which in turn suppresses transcription and production of HBV antigens. In this report, we describe the antiviral activities of AB-836, a potent and highly selective HBV CAM. AB-836 inhibited viral replication (EC50 = 0.010 μM) in HepDE19 cells, and cccDNA formation (EC50 = 0.18 μM) and HBsAg production (EC50 = 0.20 μM) in HepG2-NTCP cells during de novo infection. AB-836 showed broad genotype coverage, remained active against variants resistant to nucleos(t)ide analogs, and demonstrated improved antiviral potency against core variants resistant to other CAMs. AB-836 also mediated potent inhibition of HBV replication in a hydrodynamic injection mouse model, reducing both serum and liver HBV DNA. In a Phase 1 clinical study, 28 days of once-daily AB-836 oral dosing at 50, 100, and 200 mg resulted in mean serum HBV DNA declines of 2.57, 3.04, and 3.55 log10 IU/mL from baseline, respectively. Neither on-treatment viral rebound nor the emergence of viral resistance was observed during the 28-day treatment period. Furthermore, HBV DNA sequence analysis of baseline samples from the Phase 1 study revealed that 51.4% of the chronic hepatitis B participants contained at least one core polymorphism within the CAM-binding pocket, suggesting that genetic variations exist at this site. While AB-836 was discontinued due to clinical safety findings, data from the preclinical and clinical studies could help inform future optimization of HBV CAMs.

MED12 Loss-of-Function Variants as a Cause of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia in Females With Hardikar Syndrome and Nonspecific Intellectual Disability.

Mediator complex subunit 12 (MED12) is required for the assembly of the kinase module of Mediator, a regulatory complex that controls the formation of the RNA polymerase II-mediated preinitiation complex. MED12-related disorders display unique gender-specific genotype-phenotype associations and include X-linked recessive Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome, Lujan-Fryns syndrome, Ohdo syndrome, and nonspecific intellectual disability in males predominantly carrying missense variants, and X-linked dominant Hardikar syndrome and nonspecific intellectual disability in females known to predominantly carry de novo nonsense/frameshift and nonsense/missense variants, respectively. MED12 was previously identified as a low-penetrance candidate gene for non-isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH+). At the time, however, there was insufficient evidence to confirm this association. In a clinical database search, we identified 18 individuals who were molecularly diagnosed with MED12-related disorders by exome or genome sequencing, including eight missense, four frameshift, two nonsense, and one splice variant. Nine of these variants have not been previously reported. Two females with nonspecific intellectual disability were found to carry a de novo frameshift variant, indicating that potentially truncating variants causing nonspecific intellectual disability are not limited to nonsense variants. Notably, CDH was reported in three out of seven females with Hardikar syndrome or nonspecific intellectual disability but was not reported in males with MED12-related disorders. These results suggest that pathogenic MED12 variants are a cause of CDH+ in females with Hardikar syndrome and nonspecific intellectual disability.

The translocation assembly module (TAM) catalyzes the assembly of bacterial outer membrane proteins in vitro

The translocation and assembly module (TAM) has been proposed to play a crucial role in the assembly of a small subset of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) in Proteobacteria based on experiments conducted in vivo using tamA and tamB mutant strains and in vitro using biophysical methods. TAM consists of an OMP (TamA) and a periplasmic protein that is anchored to the inner membrane by a single α helix (TamB). Here we examine the function of the purified E. coli complex in vitro after reconstituting it into proteoliposomes. We find that TAM catalyzes the assembly of four model OMPs nearly as well as the β-barrel assembly machine (BAM), a universal heterooligomer that contains a TamA homolog (BamA) and that catalyzes the assembly of almost all E. coli OMPs. Consistent with previous results, both TamA and TamB are required for significant TAM activity. Our study provides direct evidence that TAM can function as an independent OMP insertase and describes a new method to gain insights into TAM function.

Automated inspection approach for OCA particles in multi-layered cover glass of display module assembly

Abstract CG (Cover Glass) is a critical component of electronic screens, and its manufacturing quality is closely relevant to the display effect. To satisfy the requirement of quality control, a machine vision system for real-time inspection of particles in the OCA (Optically Clear Adhesive) layer of CG is presented in this paper. With a brief description of the optical logic of particle imaging and the design of the vision system, our emphasis is put on the post-processing image analysis. To align particles regions in the CG under multi-mode imaging, a spatial alignment calibration algorithm is proposed with perspective distortion correction to calculate the triaxial offset. Then, a CLAHE+PM filtering is adopted to enhance the contrast of the particle. Furthermore, a Meanshift method combined with adaptive local thresholding is proposed to extract the contours of tiny particles. Finally, to distinguish between multiple layers of particles in the CG and detect OCA particles, a combination of fast background reconstruction and Averaged Stochastic Gradient Descent-Support Vector Machine is used. According to in-line experiments and tests, our system can find out a majority of the OCA particles with a PR (over-detection rate) of 1.31% and a PM (miss detection rate) of 0.33% for over 10 000 CG samples.

Hydrogels and Aerogels for Versatile Photo-/Electro-Chemical and Energy-Related Applications.

The development of photo-/electro-chemical and flexible electronics has stimulated research in catalysis, informatics, biomedicine, energy conversion, and storage applications. Gels (e.g., aerogel, hydrogel) comprise a range of polymers with three-dimensional (3D) network structures, where hydrophilic polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, copolymers, and hydroxides are the most widely studied for hydrogels, whereas 3D graphene, carbon, organic, and inorganic networks are widely studied for aerogels. Encapsulation of functional species with hydrogel building blocks can modify the optoelectronic, physicochemical, and mechanical properties. In addition, aerogels are a set of nanoporous or microporous 3D networks that bridge the macro- and nano-world. Different architectures modulate properties and have been adopted as a backbone substrate, enriching active sites and surface areas for photo-/electro-chemical energy conversion and storage applications. Fabrication via sol-gel processes, module assembly, and template routes have responded to professionalized features and enhanced performance. This review presents the most studied hydrogel materials, the classification of aerogel materials, and their applications in flexible sensors, batteries, supercapacitors, catalysis, biomedical, thermal insulation, etc.

Chemically Tagging Cargo for Specific Packaging inside and on the Surface of Virus-like Particles.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) have untapped potential for packaging and delivery of macromolecular cargo. To be a broadly useful platform, there needs to be a strategy for attaching macromolecules to the inside or the outside of the VLP with minimal modification of the platform or cargo. Here, we repurpose antiviral compounds that bind to hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsids to create a chemical tag to noncovalently attach cargo to the VLP. Our tag consists of a capsid assembly modulator, HAP13, connected to a linker terminating in maleimide. Our cargo is a green fluorescent protein (GFP) with a single addressable cysteine, a feature that can be engineered in many proteins. The HAP-GFP construct maintained HAP's intrinsic ability to bind HBV capsids and accelerate assembly. We investigated the capacity of HAP-GFP to coassemble with HBV capsid protein and bind to preassembled capsids. HAP-GFP binding was concentration-dependent, sensitive to capsid stability, and dependent on linker length. Long linkers had the greatest activity to bind capsids, while short linkers impeded assembly and damaged intact capsids. In coassembly reactions, >20 HAP-GFP molecules were presented on the outside and inside of the capsid, concentrating the cargo by more than 100-fold compared to bulk solution. We also tested an HAP-GFP with a cleavable linker so that external GFP molecules could be removed, resulting in exclusive internal packaging. These results demonstrate a generalizable strategy for attaching cargo to a VLP, supporting development of HBV as a modular VLP platform.

The Influence of Calendering Process on the Graphite Anode

Calendering, or pressing, is the final property-defining process for battery electrode manufacturing to maximize the volumetric capacity of the cell through the compaction of an electrode between two large calender rollers12. On one hand, it can reduce the porosity of battery materials thus increase the conductivity of the materials. On the other hand, it can control the thickness of the electrodes, making sure it is uniform and proper thickness to guarantee the minimal variation in the cell thickness, reaching even stack pressure for module assembly and impacting the thermal management [3]. The calendering process significantly influence the performance of lithium-ion battery (LIB).Graphite anode coating on Cu foil was chosen as our baseline coating for this calendering process investigation. The slurry was mixed in a planetary and dispersive mixer and then coated using reverse comma coating method by a scale-up coater with drying zones of 70 °C. Then the coating was calendered by a calendering machine at various conditions.Calendering, though seemingly a simply process, is influenced by several different parameters significantly. In this study, we systematically investigated the calendering process by carrying-out a Design-of-experiment (DOE). The following calendering parameters were investigated: the parameters of calendering machine gap size, calendering pressure, and the speed of the coating web. The calendered graphite coating was then measured for the morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the pore size change by BET surface area measurement, and Direct current internal resistance (DCIR) by building half cells and cycling and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) at 50% State-of-Charge (SOC).The result showed that pressure is the most critical parameter for calendering and the internal resistance and ionic conductivity changes in response to the calendering parameters. The half-cell with calendering at the pressure of 37 MPa, gap size targeted for 30% porosity, the BET surface area around 0.75 m2/g showed highest cell capacity and lowest internal resistance.

Improved preclinical drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics of pibothiadine (HEC121210), a novel hepatitis B virus capsid assembly modulator

Pibothiadine (PBD; HEC121120) is a novel hepatitis B virus capsid assembly modulator based on GLS4 (morphothiadine) and has inhibitory activities against resistant strains. To assess the overall preclinical drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) properties of PBD, in vivo pharmacokinetics studies in rats and dogs have been performed along with a series of in vitro metabolism assays. The oral bioavailability of PBD in rats and dogs might be related to its medium permeability in Caco-2 cells and largely be impacted by the pH-dependent solubility. PBD was highly distributed to the liver where the local exposure was 16.4 fold of the system exposure. PBD showed relatively low metabolic rate in recombinant human cytochrome P450 enzymes, whereas low to moderate in vitro clearance in liver microsomes and low (dog) to moderate (rat) in vivo clearance. Furthermore, β-oxidation and dehydrogenation were proposed as the primary metabolic pathways of PBD in rats. Compared to GLS4, the higher systemic exposure of PBD might be attributed to its improved oral absorption and metabolic stability. In addition, the enhanced liver/plasma exposure ratio could further increase the local exposure around the target. These improved DMPK properties might indicate better development of PBD in the clinical phase.

Discovery of novel small molecules targeting hepatitis B virus core protein from marine natural products with HiBiT-based high-throughput screening

Due to the limitations of current anti-HBV therapies, the HBV core (HBc or HBcAg) protein assembly modulators (CpAMs) are believed to be potential anti-HBV agents. Therefore, discovering safe and efficient CpAMs is of great value. In this study, we established a HiBiT-based high-throughput screening system targeting HBc and screened novel CpAMs from an in-house marine chemicals library. A novel lead compound 8a, a derivative of the marine natural product naamidine J, has been successfully screened for potential anti-HBV activity. Bioactivity-driven synthesis was then conducted, and the structure‒activity relationship was analyzed, resulting in the discovery of the most effective compound 11a (IC50 = 0.24 μmol/L). Furthermore, 11a was found to significantly inhibit HBV replication in multiple cell models and exhibit a synergistic effect with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and IFNa2 in vitro for anti-HBV activity. Treatment with 11a in a hydrodynamic-injection mouse model demonstrated significant anti-HBV activity without apparent hepatotoxicity. These findings suggest that the naamidine J derivative 11a could be used as the HBV core protein assembly modulator to develop safe and effective anti-HBV therapies.

Design, synthesis and anti-HBV activity study of novel HBV capsid assembly modulators

Capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) have the potential to cure chronic hepatitis B, as demonstrated in clinical trials. Lead compounds NVR3-778 and 5a were found to exist in normal and flipped conformations through induced fit docking. Therefore, we designed and synthesized series I and II compounds by interchanging the amide and sulfonamide bonds of 5a to modify both the tolerance region and solvent-opening region. Among them, compound 4a (EC50 = 0.24 ± 0.10 μM, CC50 > 100 μM) exhibited potent anti-HBV activity with low toxicity, surpassing the lead compounds NVR3-778 (EC50 = 0.29 ± 0.03 μM, CC50 = 20.78 ± 2.29 μM) and 5a (EC50 = 0.50 ± 0.07 μM, CC50 = 48.16 ± 9.15 μM) in HepAD38 cells. Additionally, compared with the lead compound, 4a displayed a stronger inhibitory effect on HBV capsid protein assembly. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations confirmed that the normal conformation of 4a had relatively stable conformation at different frames of binding modes. Furthermore, 4a showed better metabolic stability in human plasma than positive control drugs. Therefore, compound 4a could be further structurally modified as a potent lead compound.