Screened α-Helix Peptide Inhibitor toward SARS-CoV-2 by Blocking a Prion-like Domain in the Receptor Binding Domain.

A new peptide inhibitor was designed and optimized from an α-helix-rich peptide library specifically toward the critical prion-like domain (PLD) of SARS-CoV-2. It compactly blocked the S1 protein and potently neutralized the pseudovirus which shows promising potential for prophylactic and treatment of COVID-19.