Luminescent Assay for the Screening of SARS-CoV-2 M^Pro Inhibitors

Since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 millions of infections have been reported globally. The viral chymotrypsin-like main protease (M^Pro ) exhibits a crucial role in viral replication and represents a relevant target for antiviral drug development. In order to screen potential M^Pro inhibitors we developed a luminescent assay using a peptide based probe containing a cleavage site specific for M^Pro . This assay was validated showing IC₅₀ values similar to those reported in the literature for known M^Pro inhibitors and can be used to screen new inhibitors.