Antiviral nasal spray can fight coronavirus, study finds


A nasal spray that can treat coronavirus was formulated by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, according to a report. The researchers are now working to clinically evaluate and produce it.

The aerosol spray, called AeroNabs, is an antiviral intended to prevent COVID-19, although it is not a cure, the researchers said in a statement. She added that it could be a good weapon against new coronavirus until a vaccine is found, as a potential alternative for those who do not respond to a vaccine.

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“Much more effective than portable forms of personal protective equipment, we think of AeroNabs as a molecular form of PPE that could serve as a major stopgap until faxes provide a more permanent solution to COVID-19,” said Peter Walter, Ph.D. , professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF and a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in a press release.

“For those who do not have access to or do not respond to SARS-CoV-2 faxes, AeroNabs could be a more permanent line of defense against COVID-19,” added Walter, who is also the co-inventor of AeroNabs.

The scientists stated in the release that they were inspired by nanobodies, which are found as antibodies in llamas and camels.

“Although they function much like the antibodies found in the human immune system, nanobodies offer a number of unique benefits for effective therapies against SARS-CoV-2,” said co-inventor Aashish Manglik, MD, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, in a statement.

Coronavirus (COVID-19. (3D rendering)

Coronavirus (COVID-19. (3D rendering)
(redit: BlackJack3D / iStock)

The researchers explained that SARS-CoV-2 binds to spike proteins to infect human cells.

“They are the essential key by which the virus can enter our cells,” they said.

The researchers explained that when the coronavirus particle activates, the spike receptors are primed to attach to ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) inhibitors found in human cells that line the nasal passage, lungs and airways . Researchers in the field of coronavirus recently told Fox News that this is the entry point of the virus.

The authors state in the report that they “develop single-domain anti-antibodies (nanobodies) that potentially disrupt the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 Spike and ACE2.” They were able to make synthetic nanobodies in an iron surface and found that the nanobodies bound to the spikes and blocked the ACE2 interaction, thus blocking the virus from invading the host.

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The researchers explain in the news release that the most powerful nanobodies not only act as a sheath that surrounds the spike receptors, but also as a ‘molecular mouse’, emphasizing spike in its closed, inactive state, which provides an extra layer adds protection against the spike – ACE2 interactions that lead to infection. ”

The nanobodies remained a potential SARS-CoV-2 antiviral when tested in an aerosolized form, according to the news release. These mean that it can be practical to administer via a plank-stable inhaler or nasal spray. This aerosol form could provide a “patient-friendly prophylactic and / or early infection therapeutic agent to stem the worst pandemic in a century,” the researchers said.