Research Article

Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2

Volume: 38 Number: 1 March 20, 2026
EN TR

Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

The potential antiviral activity of FDA-approved 3 compounds (N-acetyl-D-glucosamine; GlcNAc, N-acetylcysteine; NAC, and Acetylsalicylic acid; ASA) against SARS-CoV-2 was investigated. Molecular docking analysis of these compounds as ligands with the main 22 viral proteins was made to predict their possible interaction. All molecules showed interactions with the viral proteins; the mean binding scores for GlcNAc and ASA were very close (-6.81 kcal/mol and -6.31 kcal/mol, respectively), while NAC designated the lowest value (-4.69 kcal/mol). GlcNAc showed the highest binding energy of -8.80 kcal/mol against both the target proteins RdRp-RTP site (7BV2) and Helicase-ANP binding site (7NN0). Since these 22 proteins, including main protease (Mpro) and Papain-like protease (PLpro), are responsible for replication and various pathogenesis processes, it could be concluded that these FDA-approved commercially available compounds have antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2, which should be confirmed with further in vivo and clinical trials.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

This study utilized bioinformatics tools online. Ethical approval was deemed unnecessary as the research did not involve human or animal subjects, nor did it entail primary cell cultures derived from human or animal subjects.

Thanks

The article is dedicated to patients who lost their lives during COVID-19 pandemic. The author thanks Emine Şeküre Nazlı Arda, Ph.D. and Ömür Baysal, Ph.D. for their comments and suggestions on the manuscript.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Bioinformatics, Modelling and Simulation, Molecular Docking, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (Other), Infectious Agents, Virology, Bioengineering (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

March 20, 2026

Submission Date

April 24, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 22, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 38 Number: 1

APA
Silme, R. S. (2026). Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Pure Sciences, 38(1), 10-22. https://doi.org/10.7240/jeps.1683116
AMA
1.Silme RS. Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2. JEPS. 2026;38(1):10-22. doi:10.7240/jeps.1683116
Chicago
Silme, Ragıp Soner. 2026. “Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine, N-Acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic Acid on SARS-CoV-2”. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Pure Sciences 38 (1): 10-22. https://doi.org/10.7240/jeps.1683116.
EndNote
Silme RS (March 1, 2026) Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Pure Sciences 38 1 10–22.
IEEE
[1]R. S. Silme, “Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2”, JEPS, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 10–22, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.7240/jeps.1683116.
ISNAD
Silme, Ragıp Soner. “Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine, N-Acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic Acid on SARS-CoV-2”. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Pure Sciences 38/1 (March 1, 2026): 10-22. https://doi.org/10.7240/jeps.1683116.
JAMA
1.Silme RS. Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2. JEPS. 2026;38:10–22.
MLA
Silme, Ragıp Soner. “Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine, N-Acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic Acid on SARS-CoV-2”. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Pure Sciences, vol. 38, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 10-22, doi:10.7240/jeps.1683116.
Vancouver
1.Ragıp Soner Silme. Assessing Antiviral Mechanisms of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetylcysteine and Acetylsalicylic acid on SARS-CoV-2. JEPS. 2026 Mar. 1;38(1):10-22. doi:10.7240/jeps.1683116