Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41982734›Full record

ArticleACS medicinal chemistry letters2026

Ugi-Tetrazole-Derived α‑Aminomethyl Scaffolds Reveal Unexpected Binding Modes in SARS-CoV‑2 3CLpro.

Robin van der Straat, Rick Oerlemans, Yingying Cong, Jeffrey Boxma, Radu G Bulai, Clàudia Río-Bergé, Lizbé Koekemoer, Tryfon Zarganes Tzitzikas, Zhirui Guan, Peter George Marples and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS medicinal chemistry letters, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Robin van der StraatDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, Photopharmacology and Imaging, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, Netherlands.
Rick OerlemansDepartment of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Biology, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, Netherlands.
Yingying CongDepartment of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Jeffrey BoxmaDepartment of Drug Design, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, Netherlands.
Radu G BulaiDepartment of Drug Design, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, Netherlands.
Clàudia Río-BergéDepartment of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8466-3148
Lizbé KoekemoerCentre for Medicines Discovery, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FZ, United Kingdom.
Tryfon Zarganes TzitzikasCentre for Medicines Discovery, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FZ, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7323-8587
Zhirui GuanInnovative Chemistry Group, Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Peter George MarplesDiamond Light Source, Limited, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom.
Fulvio ReggioriDepartment of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Matthew GrovesDepartment of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Biology, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9859-5177
Alexander DömlingInnovative Chemistry Group, Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9923-8873

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro) is a well-validated target for structure-guided inhibitor discovery. Here, we report α-aminomethyl tetrazole inhibitors accessed via the Ugi tetrazole multicomponent reaction (UT-4CR), enabling rapid exploration of non-classical chemical space. Initial design and modeling suggested a binding mode analogous to Ugi-derived (U-4CR) 3CLpro inhibitors, with heteroaromatic substituents engaging the S1 pocket. However, crystallographic analysis revealed an unexpected binding orientation in which the tetrazole core itself occupies the S1 pocket and forms the key interaction with His163, while the modeled substituents are solvent-exposed. This revised binding mode rationalizes the observed structure-activity relationships. Installation of an electrophilic warhead yielded covalent inhibitors with sub-micromolar enzymatic potency, and lead compound

Indexed as

1,5-disubstituted tetrazole3CLpro inhibitormulticomponent reactionSARS-CoV-2Ugi

Identifiers

PMID41982734
PMCPMC13071645

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.