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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

drug screening, S31N, mutant, influenza A, virus, flu

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

Influenza is responsible for millions of hospitalizations and deaths every year. Treating the influenza virus has become increasingly difficult since mutant viruses have rendered previously viable drugs ineffective. New drug-screening procedures are now necessary in order to speed up the process of viable drug discovery. Molecular simulations have proven valuable for studying drug effectiveness in wild-type flu viruses, but little has been done on prevailing influenza mutants. Influenza mutants often feature a change in the M2 proton channel, a critical component in the viral replication and infection cycle. To counter this, drugs must be discovered that can block the influenza M2 channel of mutant viruses. The purpose of this research report is to discuss the methods and results of using molecular dynamics simulations to predict drug efficacy against the M2 proton channel of the Influenza A virus.

Included in

Physiology Commons

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