In addition, Linhardt and his team have shown their compound to be just as effective at targeting neuraminidase as the most popular drugs on the market, according to Linhardt.

The approach can also be modified to specifically target the neuraminidase or the hemagglutinin, or both, depending on the type of mutation that is present in the current version of the flu, according to Linhardt.

In the next steps of his research, Linhardt will look at how their compounds bind to hemagglutinin, and he will test the ability to block the virus first in cell cultures and then in infected animal models.

"It is still early in the process," he said. "We are several steps away from a new drug, but this technique is allowing us to move very quickly in creating and testing these compounds."

The technique that Linhardt used is the increasingly popular technique of "click chemistry." Linhardt is among the first researchers in the world to utilize the technique to create new anti-viral agents. The process allows chemists to join small units of a substance together quickly to create a new, full substance.

In this case, Linhardt used the technique to quickly build a new derivative of sialic acid. Because it is chemically very similar to the sialic acid found on the surface of a cell, the virus could mistake the compound as the real sialic acid and bind to it instead of the cell, eliminating the connections to hemagglutinin and neuraminidase that are required for initial infection and spread of the infection in the body. The currently available drugs are translation-state inhibitors whose chemical structure allows them to only effectively target the neuraminidase.

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