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COVID
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Coronaviruses: Variants, Antivirals, and Vaccination
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Coronaviruses: Variants, Antivirals, and Vaccination

A special issue of COVID (ISSN 2673-8112). This special issue belongs to the section "Human or Animal Coronaviruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 702

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Cheng-Wen Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan
Interests: viral pathogenesis; antiviral agents; viral diagnosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Coronaviruses: Variants, Antivirals, and Vaccination”, aims to provide an integrated platform for advancing our understanding of coronavirus evolution and its ongoing impact on global health.

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to generate new variants with differing transmissibility, pathogenicity, and immune-evasion profiles, timely dissemination of research findings remains essential. This topic is critically important for informing preparedness, guiding therapeutic development—including the role of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which continue to be a cornerstone of therapy for high-risk patients—and refining vaccination strategies. Furthermore, a comprehensive understanding of virus–host interactions—such as how variants bind to cellular receptors (e.g., ACE2), enter cells, and manipulate innate immune responses—is fundamental to elucidating the mechanisms that drive viral infection, pathogenesis, and immune evasion. By covering viral evolution, antiviral efficacy, immunological responses, and real-world vaccine performance, the Special Issue encourages multidisciplinary perspectives that can support evidence-based public health decision-making. Additionally, offering authors a broader venue for publishing ensures that high-quality work reaches the scientific community promptly and effectively. Through this focus, the Special Issue seeks to accelerate progress in understanding coronaviruses and mitigating their current and future threats.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Viruses.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Cheng-Wen Lin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. COVID is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coronavirus variants
  • SARS-CoV-2 evolution
  • antivirals
  • vaccination
  • immune response
  • global health
  • viral pathogenesis
  • public health preparedness
  • host genomics
  • monoclonal antibodies

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 7042 KB  
Article
Broad-Spectrum Inhibitor Discovery Targeting Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins via 3D Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Molecular Dynamics
by Ebtisam Aldaais, Munthir Aldukhi, Hind Alotaibi, Heba Mofleh Alzabni, Subha Yegnaswamy and Nada F. Alahmady
COVID 2026, 6(3), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/covid6030036 - 27 Feb 2026
Viewed by 472
Abstract
Rapid antigenic drift in the coronavirus spike protein motivates alternative antiviral strategies. We target the conserved nucleocapsid (N) protein—central to RNA binding, genome packaging, and replication—and perform a comparative, cross-species 3D structure-based in silico evaluation. A library of 494 compounds (natural, phytochemical, synthetic) [...] Read more.
Rapid antigenic drift in the coronavirus spike protein motivates alternative antiviral strategies. We target the conserved nucleocapsid (N) protein—central to RNA binding, genome packaging, and replication—and perform a comparative, cross-species 3D structure-based in silico evaluation. A library of 494 compounds (natural, phytochemical, synthetic) was docked with AutoDock Vina against the MERS-CoV N–terminal RNA–binding domain (NTD; PDB 7DYD) and the C–terminal dimerization domains (CTD) of SARS-CoV (2CJR) and SARS-CoV-2 (8R6E), reflecting the availability of high-resolution, functionally relevant domain structures for each virus. Top-ranked poses underwent ADME profiling and 100 ns GROMACS molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations. Myricetin 3-O-β-D-Galactopyranoside (myricetin) showed the most favorable predicted docking scores across targets (−8.9 kcal/mol, MERS–NTD; −10.1, SARS–CTD; −9.8, SARS-CoV-2 CTD). Curcumin showed moderate predicted affinity (−7.1 to −8.1), while MCC950 achieved consistently favorable docking score (−7.9 to −9.0). ADME results highlighted a trade-off: glycosylated flavonoids offered rich interaction networks but violated oral drug-likeness criteria (e.g., high TPSA), whereas MCC950 met Lipinski/Veber guidelines, supporting translational potential. MD analyses revealed ligand- and target-specific stability: myricetin maintained persistent binding over 100 ns in the SARS-CoV-2 CTD with lower RMSD than comparators; curcumin exhibited transient stability (~30 ns) in MERS- and SARS-bound complexes; MCC950 showed intermittent interactions. Collectively, these findings suggest that the conserved N protein RNA-binding groove represents a resistance-resilient target for broad-spectrum antiviral discovery. Natural flavonoids provide promising scaffolds for optimization, and MCC950 warrants further exploration given its drug-like profile. As this study is purely computational, the results are hypothesis-generating and should be validated via RNA-binding disruption assays, antiviral cell studies, and in vivo models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Coronaviruses: Variants, Antivirals, and Vaccination)
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