A Novel Antiviral Drug to Treat Enterovirus 71

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2018 in the subject Biology - Virology, grade: 1.0, University of Connecticut, language: English, abstract: The objective of this research paper is to address the possibility of a novel antiviral drug that can be used once infection of EV 71 has occurred. Enterovirus 71, or EV 71, is responsible for causing Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease in humans. In particular, it is especially deadly when children and small infants are exposed.

The methods for this research include transformation of Escherichia coli with the genetic information from Enterovirus 71, growth of the Escherichia coli colonies in the lab setting, 2C protein purification, and ATPase assays with drug testing. Of the 364 drugs tested in the ATPase assay, a combination of two of them (Mitrofudil and N6-Benzyladenosine) indicated a stoppage in activity of ATPase, signaling no further activity of the enzyme and viral proliferation.