BOC Sciences offers comprehensive antiviral protease inhibitor testing services to support drug discovery and development. By leveraging advanced screening platforms and a rich array of protease assays, we provide high-throughput inhibitor activity analysis to assess potency, specificity, and mechanism of action. Our services cover a wide range of viral protease targets, including HIV, HCV, and influenza, helping clients accurately identify lead compounds and optimize existing drug candidates. Using cutting-edge technologies such as fluorescence-based assays, enzyme activity assays, and cellular models, we deliver reliable and reproducible data. Our expert team tailors testing workflows to meet specific research needs, ensuring rapid turnaround times and actionable insights to accelerate the progress of antiviral therapeutic projects.
The structural similarities within the viral protease family make developing highly selective inhibitors more difficult. How do off-target effects impact the efficacy and safety profiles of antiviral drugs? Given the critical role viral proteases play in replication, how can you ensure accurate target validation while reducing false positives and false negatives? Standard testing methods often lack sufficient sensitivity and throughput, leading to increased costs and delayed research timelines. The limitations of analytical tools also hinder deriving mechanistic insights from complex data sets. The development of antiviral protease inhibitors faces numerous challenges. To overcome these hurdles, BOC Sciences offers advanced testing technologies and customized solutions to help expedite drug discovery and enhance therapeutic outcomes.
BOC Sciences offers an advanced platform providing efficient, accurate support for antiviral protease inhibitor screening, ensuring reliable results with high-throughput capabilities.
Our experienced team of virology and pharmacology experts tailors technical solutions and experimental designs, ensuring optimized and accurate screening processes for clients.
We provide tailored consultation services, adjusting screening processes and experimental conditions to meet specific research needs, offering comprehensive support throughout the project.
By controlling experimental conditions precisely, BOC Sciences ensures accurate results, detecting even subtle inhibitory effects to reflect compound antiviral activity accurately.
We provide detailed reports with data analysis, including IC50 values, inhibition curves, and recommendations, helping clients understand inhibitor activity and guiding further research.
BOC Sciences offers ongoing technical support throughout the screening process, helping clients optimize experimental conditions and ensuring smooth project progression with expert guidance.
BOC Sciences offers comprehensive protease inhibitor testing programs, covering activity inhibition analysis, IC50 determination, antiviral efficacy evaluation, and mechanism studies to accelerate antiviral drug discovery.
Measures the change in viral protease catalytic activity before and after compound treatment using colorimetric, fluorescence, or chemiluminescence assays, serving as a direct indicator of inhibitory effect.
Determines the compound concentration required to inhibit 50% of protease activity. Lower IC50 values indicate stronger inhibitory potency, calculated through dose-response curve analysis.
Evaluates compound performance at the cellular level, including viral replication inhibition, protein expression reduction, and cytopathic effect mitigation.
Quantifies viral nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) in cells or supernatants using qPCR or TCID50 assays to assess the impact of protease inhibition on viral replication.
Detects changes in virus-specific protein levels (e.g., HIV p24) through Western blotting or immunofluorescence to monitor the downstream effects of protease inhibition.
Observes cellular morphology to evaluate compound ability to prevent virus-induced cell damage, such as cell rounding and detachment.
Calculates the ratio of cytotoxicity to antiviral activity. A higher SI indicates greater therapeutic potential with lower host toxicity.
Utilizes DIFF fluorescence reporter systems where protease inhibition enhances fluorescence signal, enabling simple, cost-effective, and quantitative evaluation without complex instrumentation.
BOC Sciences is equipped with advanced technology platforms that enable the precise evaluation of viral protease inhibitor activities. Our integrated systems support sensitive measurement of enzymatic activity, inhibitor potency, cellular responses, and fluorescence-based assays. Comprehensive analysis of protease expression, inhibition effects, and localization studies ensures reliable and reproducible data output. These high-performance capabilities empower BOC Sciences to deliver dependable protease inhibitor testing services that accelerate antiviral drug discovery and development. Key Instrumentation Includes:
| Multifunctional microplate reader | Electrophoresis system |
| HPLC | Biosensor platform |
| Flow cytometer | Microscope system |
| Fluorescence spectrophotometer | Gel electrophoresis equipment |
BOC Sciences offers a broad selection of assay methods tailored to meet various research needs. Our diverse solutions ensure high sensitivity, adaptability, and precise results across different biological, viral, and cellular assays, helping researchers achieve reliable data in their experiments.
The colorimetric assay utilizes a color change in response to biochemical reactions, making it a reliable method for measuring cellular activities such as enzyme activity, cell viability, and cytotoxicity. This approach is simple, cost-effective, and highly adaptable for high-throughput screening, providing valuable insights into cellular responses and drug efficacy.
Fluorescence-based assays leverage the emission of light from fluorescent molecules to detect biological events like enzyme activity, protein interactions, or viral expression. These assays offer high sensitivity and are ideal for multiplexed applications, such as monitoring viral protein expression via Western blot or immunofluorescence, providing valuable quantitative and qualitative data.
Chemiluminescence assays use light emission triggered by a chemical reaction, offering a highly sensitive method for detecting low-abundance targets. This assay is commonly used for viral load quantification via PCR or protein expression analysis, providing clear, quantifiable results with minimal background interference and high sensitivity.
The MTT assay measures cell metabolic activity, serving as an effective indicator of cell viability and proliferation. By detecting the reduction of MTT in metabolically active cells, this method is widely used to assess cytotoxicity and the effectiveness of therapeutic compounds, providing valuable data for drug development and cell biology research.
The CCK-8 assay employs a tetrazolium salt that changes color in metabolically active cells, providing a rapid and reliable measure of cell viability. This non-radioactive, easy-to-perform assay is ideal for assessing cytotoxicity, cell proliferation, and drug screening, particularly in high-throughput applications, making it a versatile tool in cellular research.
The LDH release assay measures lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity released from damaged cells, offering a sensitive method to assess cytotoxicity and cell membrane integrity. This assay is commonly used to evaluate the effects of drugs or environmental stressors on cell health, providing quick and reliable data for cell viability and toxicity studies.
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a powerful method for detecting and quantifying viral DNA or RNA with high sensitivity and accuracy. It is widely used to assess viral load in various samples, offering precise and reproducible measurements that are essential for virus research, diagnostics, and drug development.
Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays are key techniques for detecting viral proteins in samples, providing high specificity and sensitivity. These methods are essential for studying protein expression levels, interactions, and localization, offering critical insights into viral mechanisms and facilitating the development of targeted therapies.
Requirement Understanding
BOC Sciences works closely with clients to understand research goals, selecting appropriate protease targets and aligning the screening process with specific antiviral needs.
Experimental Design
A tailored experimental plan is developed, considering compound concentration, inhibitor mechanisms, and ensuring the design supports accurate, reproducible screening results.
Experimental System Construction
Proteases, substrates, and inhibitors are carefully prepared and optimized, ensuring the stability and effectiveness of the experimental system for reliable test outcomes.
Experimental Testing
Dose-response analysis is conducted to assess the inhibitory effects of compounds, with key parameters determined to guide optimization and accurate result generation.
Data Collection
Experimental data is systematically collected, including activity, selectivity, and off-target effects, providing comprehensive insights into inhibitor performance and overall efficacy.
Report Delivery
BOC Sciences provides a detailed report with key findings, including activity curves and recommendations, helping clients understand results and optimize their compounds.
We offer comprehensive antiviral protease testing services, focusing on key protease targets from various viruses. By evaluating the inhibition of viral protease cleavage of polyproteins, blocking viral polyprotein processing, and suppressing replication processes, we help clients gain deeper insights into the antiviral activity of their compounds. Our tests cover the impact of protease inhibitors on RNA replication, sensitivity to drug resistance mutations, and the inhibition of viral replication complex formation, providing precise support for the development and optimization of antiviral drugs.
| Virus Type | Target | Test Content |
| HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) | HIV-1 Protease (HIV-1 Protease) | Inhibitor's effect on blocking viral protease cleavage of polyproteins (e.g., Gag-Pol) |
| HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) | NS3/4A Protease (NS3/4A Protease) | Test inhibition of viral polyprotein processing (e.g., NS3-NS5B cleavage), evaluate EC50 and resistance mutation sensitivity |
| Influenza Virus | PA Endonuclease (Cap-Snatching Activity) | Inhibitor's effect on viral RNA replication (e.g., screening of Baloxavir analogs) |
| SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 Virus) | 3CL Protease (Main Protease, 3CLpro) | Blocking viral polyprotein (e.g., ORF1a/1b) autoproteolysis, simulating the mechanism of action of Nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid) |
| Dengue Virus | NS2B-NS3 Protease | Inhibition of viral polyprotein processing and replication complex formation |
Which antiviral drug is a protease inhibitor?
Protease inhibitors are commonly used in antiviral drug development. Some well-known protease inhibitors include lopinavir and ritonavir, used for HIV treatment, and simeprevir and boceprevir, used for hepatitis C.
What is the inhibition of viral proteases?
Inhibition of viral proteases refers to blocking the action of proteases, which are enzymes that viruses use to process their proteins. By inhibiting these proteases, antiviral drugs prevent the virus from maturing and replicating.
Why are protease inhibitors important for antiviral therapy?
Protease inhibitors are critical for antiviral therapy because they prevent the viral enzyme from cleaving viral proteins, halting the production of infectious viral particles and controlling viral replication.
How do protease inhibitors work in the body?
Protease inhibitors bind to viral proteases, preventing them from processing viral proteins. This disrupts the viral life cycle and reduces the ability of the virus to reproduce and spread within the host.
What types of viruses are targeted by protease inhibitors?
Protease inhibitors are primarily used against retroviruses (such as HIV) and RNA viruses like hepatitis C. They also show promise against emerging viruses like coronaviruses.
How are protease inhibitors tested for efficacy?
Protease inhibitors are tested using in vitro assays, including enzyme activity tests and cell-based models, to determine their ability to inhibit viral protease activity and reduce viral replication effectively.
