# A biophysical assay targeting SARS CoV-2 RNA

> **NIH NIH R43** · NUBAD, LLC · 2022 · $299,900

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The world is immersed in a health crisis rivaled only by the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919. The difference
between the crisis of today and the crisis a century ago is that we have advanced communication technology
greatly so that huge populations of people around the globe are aware of risks and can take appropriate
precautions, such as the employment of quarantining, isolation, social distancing, and masks and handwashing.
Governments have closed schools and outlawed large social gatherings. Medical care has greatly improved,
and those most affected have received symptomatic treatment in the absence of a cure for CoVID-19. The
problem must be dealt at multiple fronts, such as vaccine development, drug development and new technologies,
assays for mitigating viral effects. The proposed project is significant because it proposes a novel
in vitro biophysical screening assay for a unique and yet untapped RNA structure in SARS-CoV-2
virus, that can be used in the future to generate RNA specific antiviral compounds.
Nucleic acids are promising avenues for drug design, both as therapeutics and as targets. Here we propose an
innovative screening approach for identification of a novel class of ligands that are specific for an RNA
element within the viral RNA genome that is vital for replication of the virus, and we propose a
biophysical screening assay as a first step for identifying such ligands. First, as outlined in Specific Aim
1, we will characterize a model nucleic acid (RNA) domain that will be synthesized, characterized and used to
identify a RNA specific fluorescent probe. The optimized probe will then be used for developing a high-throughput
screening assay for discovery of nanomolar binders to this RNA. The RNA specific high-affinity binders will then
be combined with sequence-specific RNA binding ligands to validate the assay development and its utility. The
mechanism of action will be confirmed using inhibition of firefly luciferase translation in a reporter gene assay
(Specific Aim 2). While the focus of this application, as the needed first step, is on the development and
validation of the biophysical assay for the underlying SARS-CoV-2 RNA structures, a successful validation of
the approach will open the doors for discovery and development of lead compounds for inhibition of SARS-CoV
in Phase II studies. NUBAD and its team of scientists and collaborators is uniquely qualified to perform these
assays and develop the potential leads in Phase II, in addition to providing a template for the scientific community
to use the screening technology for their own discovery platforms. Success of the approach will also allow us to
expand the screening technology to other RNA structures in SARS and other RNA viruses, and provide the
screening resource as a service to the scientific community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10381446
- **Project number:** 1R43AI167095-01
- **Recipient organization:** NUBAD, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** sandra Paige story
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $299,900
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-27 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10381446

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10381446, A biophysical assay targeting SARS CoV-2 RNA (1R43AI167095-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10381446. Licensed CC0.

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