Candidate inhibitors against the main protease of SARS-CoV-2

Covid-19 is a highly infectious viral disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has spread worldwide since its emersion in December 2019, causing an unprecedented pandemic. Currently, it has no targeted vaccines or treatments, and effective treatment options are very limited. It is important to identify drugs that effectively inhibit a specific target of the SARS coronavirus. This is the third deadly outbreak of coronaviruses in human society which has put pressure on the global health care system and affected the global economy a well. However, the treatment options of Covid-19 are still very limited. The development of drugs that target and inhibit essential proteins in the viral life cycle is a practical approach to overcoming this hard situation. The main protease, a cysteine protease, is an attractive target for antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronavirus infections due to its essential role in viral replication and transcription. To quickly detect effective compounds for clinical use, programs such as molecular docking drug design and virtual screening of pre-designed drugs to identify new compounds and drugs that target the main protease of the COVID-19 are performed. Combining these structural studies, virtual screening, and experimental screen, several therapeutic candidates such as repurposed drugs and ab initio designed drugs have been proposed. In this review study, suggestions for inhibitors and possible potentially effective drugs against the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 were discussed. This study paves the way for advanced experimental research to evaluate the pharmacological potential of these compounds for the treatment of Covid-19.