Scientific Reports (Mar 2021)

Computational evidence for nitro derivatives of quinoline and quinoline N-oxide as low-cost alternative for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection

  • Letícia C. Assis,
  • Alexandre A. de Castro,
  • João P. A. de Jesus,
  • Eugenie Nepovimova,
  • Kamil Kuca,
  • Teodorico C. Ramalho,
  • Felipe A. La Porta

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85280-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

Read online

Abstract A new and more aggressive strain of coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, which is highly contagious, has rapidly spread across the planet within a short period of time. Due to its high transmission rate and the significant time–space between infection and manifestation of symptoms, the WHO recently declared this a pandemic. Because of the exponentially growing number of new cases of both infections and deaths, development of new therapeutic options to help fight this pandemic is urgently needed. The target molecules of this study were the nitro derivatives of quinoline and quinoline N-oxide. Computational design at the DFT level, docking studies, and molecular dynamics methods as a well-reasoned strategy will aid in elucidating the fundamental physicochemical properties and molecular functions of a diversity of compounds, directly accelerating the process of discovering new drugs. In this study, we discovered isomers based on the nitro derivatives of quinoline and quinoline N-oxide, which are biologically active compounds and may be low-cost alternatives for the treatment of infections induced by SARS-CoV-2.