ACE2 : S1 RBD Interaction-Targeted Peptides and Small Molecules as Potential COVID-19 Therapeutics

Figure 1

AlphaScreen™-based screening scheme. (a) Human ACE2 tagged with biotin and SARS-CoV-2 S1 RBD tagged with His6 were utilized. The boxes representing the proteins include the residue sequences and the NCBI accession codes. (b) Streptavidin (donor) and nickel chelate (acceptor) beads tether to ACE2 and S1 RBD, respectively. A laser applied at 680 nM excites the donor beads to react with ambient O₂, activating it to a singlet state (¹O₂.) An interaction between the 2 proteins will bring the beads in close proximity (<200 nm) and allow ¹O₂ to diffuse and pass on energy to the acceptor bead, causing emission and production of a measurable luminescence signal (570 nm). Small molecules or peptides that disrupt this binding interaction cause signal loss.

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