Discovery of Hepatitis C Virus NS3 Helicase Inhibitors by a Multiplexed, High‐Throughput Helicase Activity Assay Based on Graphene Oxide

A GO-to solution: A simple graphene oxide (GO)-based assay to screen for selective inhibitors of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) helicase along with inhibitors of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS CoV) helicase was tested (see scheme). A single screen found five inhibitors highly selective for the HCV helicase orthologous to the SARS CoV helicase. Some of these hits were validated using the same GO-based assay.