Technological platforms used for the screening of new antiviral drugs

Currently, virus infections continue to be a public health problem, mainly affecting developing countries.1,2 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infections by viruses such as HIV and hepatitis are among the 10 leading causes of death worldwide3 which entails a greater expenditure on health by the government. The preventive measures used in viral infections are mainly based on the development and use of vaccines that can provide long-term protection, however they refer only to a limited number of viruses.2 The drugs used for the treatment of virus infections act on a specific component or enzyme in the processes of viral penetration and replication, however the great disadvantage is that viruses have the ability to mutate rapidly because their low fidelity replication process which leads to a high resistance to drugs.1,4 Currently the development of new drugs is focused on finding new therapeutic alternatives, more effective and that help to reduce the resistance of viral strains. Studies have begun to explore the possibility of developing molecules directed to viral replication processes associated with host-virus interactions, specifically proteinprotein (PPI) or protein-ligand interactions.4,5 High performance screening (HTS) as biosensors and microfluidics are tools that can be used to elucidate mechanisms of interaction of host-virus proteins through the generation of intermolecular models that allow the rapid and selective selection of antiviral pharmacological candidates in the phase initial that act specifically on the target site of interest.4,5 Below is a brief description of the development of HTS designed for the screening of molecules with antiviral potential associated with the host-virus interactions. Discussion