{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:24:21Z","timestamp":1760235861363,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,1]],"date-time":"2021-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1633046400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["T35OD029981"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T35OD029981"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is cause for concern, because these may become resistant to current vaccines and antiviral drugs in development. Current drugs target viral proteins, resulting in a critical need for RNA-targeted nanomedicines. To address this, a comparative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed. Several highly conserved sites were identified, of which the most noteworthy is a partial homopurine palindrome site with &gt;99% conservation within the coding region. This sequence was compared among recently emerged, highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants. Conservation of the site was maintained among these emerging variants, further contributing to its potential as a regulatory target site for SARS-CoV-2. RNAfold was used to predict the structures of the highly conserved sites, with some resulting structures being common among coronaviridae. An RNA-level regulatory map of the conserved regions of SARS-CoV-2 was produced based on the predicted structures, with each representing potential target sites for antisense oligonucleotides, triplex-forming oligomers, and aptamers. Additionally, homopurine\/homopyrimidine sequences within the viral genome were identified. These sequences also demonstrate appropriate target sites for antisense oligonucleotides and triplex-forming oligonucleotides. An experimental strategy to investigate these is summarized along with potential nanoparticle types for delivery, and the advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph14101012","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,8]],"date-time":"2021-10-08T21:26:20Z","timestamp":1633728380000},"page":"1012","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Variants with Nucleic Acid Therapeutic Nanoparticle Conjugates"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Hanah F.","family":"Huber","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nanotechnology Innovation Center, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8505-6550","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Majid","family":"Jaberi-Douraki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1DATA Consortium and Department of Mathematics, Kansas State University Olathe, Olathe, KS 66061, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"DeVader","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nanotechnology Innovation Center, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cesar","family":"Aparicio-Lopez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nanotechnology Innovation Center, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Juliet","family":"Nava-Chavez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nanotechnology Innovation Center, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3349-7183","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xuan","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1DATA Consortium and Department of Mathematics, Kansas State University Olathe, Olathe, KS 66061, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9862-8685","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nuwan Indika","family":"Millagaha Gedara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1DATA Consortium and Department of Mathematics, Kansas State University Olathe, Olathe, KS 66061, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7195-785X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natasha N.","family":"Gaudreault","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Diagnostic Medicine\/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Robert K.","family":"Delong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nanotechnology Innovation Center, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1069","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ymthe.2017.03.023","article-title":"FDA-Approved Oligonucleotide Therapies in 2017","volume":"25","author":"Stein","year":"2017","journal-title":"Mol. 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