This repository implements Approach 1 from the Science paper "De novo design of picomolar SARS-CoV-2 miniprotein inhibitors" by Cao et al. (2020), focusing on the design of small, stable proteins that incorporate the ACE2 α-helix to block the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein from binding to the ACE2 receptor.
- Goal: Design and optimize de novo miniproteins that mimic the ACE2 binding helix (residues 23–46) to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD.
- Approach: Incorporate the ACE2 α-helix into custom-designed scaffolds using Rosetta, followed by in silico optimization for stability and binding.
- Inspiration: Approach 1 from Cao et al., Science, 2020