Effective ACE2 peptide–nanoparticle conjugation and its binding with the SARS-Cov-2 RBD quantified by dynamic light scattering

Abstract

The infection of coronavirus initiates with the binding between its spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) and a human cellular receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Here, we construct truncated ACE2 peptide-conjugated gold nanoparticles as antiviral scaffolds and study their binding with the SARS-CoV-2 RBD using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Systematic DLS analysis identifies the effective peptide–nanoparticle conjugation and its efficient, specific, and long-lasting multivalent binding towards the RBD with a binding affinity of 41 nM, indicating the potential of this antiviral platform to compete with natural ACE2–RBD interactions for viral blocking and showcasing an accessible approach to measure the binding constants and kinetics.