Resistance-proof antiviral that targets several diseases in development

Many efforts to fight viral diseases like Zika and Ebola focus on targeting the specific virus. But now, a new study reports progress toward a different solution: a universal antiviral that targets several diseases and relies on a mechanism that appears to be resistance-proof. A paper on the new approach, led by scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore and the National University of Singapore, is published in the journal Macromolecules.

The approach described in the new paper aims to act more broadly against several different types of virus. It uses a modified polymer to interact with the surfaces of the viruses and human cells. Essentially the interactions - involving electrostatic activity and hydrogen-bonding with virus surface proteins and virus-trafficking receptors on the cell surfaces - prevent the virus from entering the host cell.