(1) Development of D-peptide antivirals to combat neglected and emerging virus diseases. Potential lead peptides are identified by phage display or virtual screening and further evaluated by biochemical, biophysical and structural biology methods. The best hits enter the optimization process to develop efficient D-peptide antiviral drugs.

(2) Selection of aptamer inhibitors targeting virus proteins in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Markus Fischer (University Hamburg, department of chemistry).

(3) Investigation of pathogen-host relationship (For Chikungunya und Zika virus and for the Chagas parasite) on the metabolic level using NMR metabolomics approach.

(4) Impact of virus proteases on the aggregation behavior of proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases.

Selected Publications

Eberle RJ, Sevenich M, Gering I, Scharbert L, Strodel B, Lakomek NA, Santur K, Mohrlüder J, Coronado MA, Willbold D. Discovery of All d-Peptide Inhibitors of SARS-CoV2 3C-like Protease. ACS Chem. Biol. 2023; https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.2c00735

Eberle RJ, Olivier DS, Amaral MS, Pacca CC, Nogueira ML, Arni RK, Willbold D, Coronado MA. Riboflavin, a Potent Neuroprotective Vitamin: Focus on Flavivirus and Alphavirus Proteases. Microorganisms. 2022; 10(7):1331; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10071331

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Eberle RJ, Gering I, Tusche M, Ostermann PN, Müller L, Adams O, Schaal H, Olivier DS, Amaral MS, Arni RK, Willbold D, Coronado MA. Design of D-Amino Acids SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors Using the Cationic Peptide from Rattlesnake Venom as a Scaffold. Pharmaceuticals. 2022; 15(5):540; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15050540

Coronado MA, de Moraes FR, Stuqui B, Calmon MF, Eberle RJ, Rahal P, Arni RK. The secreted Metabolome of Hela Cells under Effect of Crotamine, a Cell-Penetrating Peptide from a Rattlesnake Using NMR-Based Metabolomics Analyses. BioMed 2022, 2(2), 238-254; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomed2020020

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Hernández González JE, Eberle RJ, Willbold D, Coronado MA. A Computer-Aided Approach for the Discovery of D-Peptides as Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. Front Mol Biosci. 2022 Jan 24;8:816166; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2021.816166

Eberle RJ, Olivier DS, Amaral MS, Willbold D, Arni RK, Coronado MA. Promising Natural Compounds against Flavivirus Proteases: Citrus Flavonoids Hesperetin and Hesperidin. Plants (Basel). 2021 Oct 14;10(10):2183. doi: 10.3390/plants10102183; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8539695/

Eberle RJ, Olivier DS, Amaral MS, Willbold D, Arni RK, Coronado MA. The repurposed drugs suramin and quinacrine cooperatively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro in vitro. Viruses, 2021 13(5), 873; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050873.



Eberle RJ, Olivier DS, Pacca CC, Avilla CMS, Nogueira ML, Amaral MS, Willbold D, Arni RK, Coronado MA. In vitro study of Hesperetin and Hesperidin as inhibitors of zika and chikungunya virus proteases. PLoS One. 2021 Mar4;16(3):e0246319; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246319.



Loschwitz, J, Jäckering A, Keutmann M,  Olagunju M,  Eberle RJ, Coronado MA, Ollubiyi OO, Strodel B. Novel Inhibitors of the Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 Identified via a Molecular Dynamics Simulation-Guided in Vitro Assay. Bioorg Chem. 2021 Mar29;111:104862; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioorg.2021.104862.



Coronado MA, Eberle RJ, Bleffert N, Feuerstein S, Olivier DS, de Moraes FR, Willbold D, Arni RK. Zika virus NS2B/NS3 proteinase: A new target for an old drug - Suramin a lead compound for NS2B/NS3 proteinase inhibition. Antiviral Res. 2018 Dec160:118-125; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.antiviral.2018.10.019