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43 INNOSC Theranostics and Pharmacological Sciences, 2022, Vol. 5, No. 2 Das et al.
SARS-CoV-2 on direct contact, achieved through Utkal University for the manpower support. The
the production of reactive oxygen species. manpower support from DBT Government of India,
Another study about chitosan aimed to develop New Delhi to the Department of Biotechnology,
mucoadhesive, chemically cross-linked chitosan Utkal University, and The National Centre for Cell
hydrogels using malic and glutaric acid, without Science (NCCS), Pune, is gratefully acknowledged.
supplementary excipients, solubilizing agents,
or catalysts, and examine their interaction with Funding
certain natural ACE2 receptor inhibitors [36]. World Bank-OHEPEE and DBT Government of India.
These hydrogels were intended for use as a nasal
formulation to reduce the risk of COVID-19 Conflict of interest
infection. Furthermore, protein-protein interaction
studies revealed notable reductions in the binding The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
energy of the S protein with ACE2 in the presence Author contributions
of chitosan and its derivatives. As a result, both
compounds are likely to prevent the attachment Conceptualization: Poonam Das, Sanatan Majhi,
of the RBD region of S Protein to the ACE2 Sabuj Sahoo, Atala Bihari Jena
receptor [37,38]. It is important to note that, however, Formal analysis: Rout George Kerry
these findings necessitate further experimental Investigation: Poonam Das, Anup Kumar Singh,
validation. The carboxylic group emerges as an Atala Bihari Jena
important structural feature that contributes to the Methodology: Poonam Das, Sanatan Majhi, Sabuj
heightened affinity of chitosan for this target. These Sahoo, Atala Bihari Jena
groups also exhibit the capacity to enhance water Writing – original draft: Poonam Das, Sanatan
solubility and flocculating capacity, which may Majhi, Rout George Kerry, Atala Bihari Jena
enhance the in vivo efficacy [5]. Writing – review & editing: Sanatan Majhi, Atala
Bihari Jena
5. Conclusion
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The novel COVID-19, responsible for the
recent pandemic, stands as a global threat Not applicable.
with no established curative drug. Instead, the
predominant approach involves managing the Consent for publication
illness through supportive therapies employing Not applicable.
repurposed drugs. Notably, NCMC, mHTCC, and
various biocompatible chitosan derivatives have Availability of data
exhibited significant antiviral activity in-silico.
These compounds hold potential as inhibitors Not applicable.
of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Within this context, References
the results of this computational investigation
propose that NCMC and mHTCC warrant further [1] Jena, A.B.; Kanungo, N.; Chainy, G.B.N.; Devaraji, V.; Das, S.K.;
investigation as potential contenders for future Dandapat, J.A. Computational Insight on the Inhibitory Potential of
8‐Hydroxydihydrosanguinarine (8‐HDS), a Pyridone Containing
antiviral medications targeting SARS-CoV2. Analog of Sanguinarine, against SARS CoV2. Chem. Biodivers.,
Nonetheless, it is important to underscore that 2022, 19(11), e202200266.
additional experimental validation is imperative to [2] Jena, A.B.; Kanungo, N.; Nayak, V.; Chainy, G.B.N.; Dandapat, J.
Catechin and Curcumin Interact with S Protein of SARS-CoV2 and
corroborate these findings. ACE2 of Human Cell Membrane: Insights from Computational
Studies. Sci. Rep., 2021, 11, 2043.
Acknowledgments [3] Satapathy, S.; Rout, J.R.; Kerry, R.G.; Thatoi, H.; Sahoo, S.L.
Biochemical Prospects of Various Microbial Pectinase and Pectin:
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The authors are thankful to the World Bank- Front. Nutr., 2020, 7, 117.
OHEPEE for supporting the Centre of Excellence [4] Cai, J.; Dang, Q.; Liu, C.; Fan, B.; Yan, J.; Xu, Y.; Li, J. Preparation
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