Direct acting anti-hepatitis C combinations as potential COVID-19 protease inhibitors.

Unlabelled: The coronavirus pandemic could be the most threatening outbreak in the twenty-first century. According to the latest records of world health organization, more than 130 millions have been infected by COVID-19, with more than 2.9 million reported deaths.

Identification of potential inhibitors for HCV NS3 genotype 4a by combining protein-ligand interaction fingerprint, 3D pharmacophore, docking, and dynamic simulation.

HCV NS3 protease domain has been one of the most attractive targets for developing new drugs for HCV infection and many drugs were successfully developed, but all of them were designed for targeting HCV genotype 1 infection. HCV genotype 4a dominant in Egypt has paid less attention. Here, we describe our protocol of virtual screening in identification of novel potential potent inhibitors for HCV NS3 of genotype 4a using homology modeling, PLIF (protein-ligand interaction fingerprint), docking, pharmacophore, and dynamic simulation.