Kemel Arafet

Introduction Click to copy section linkSection link copied! Plastics are one of the most important materials of the modern economy, being indispensable for food and beverage packaging, in modern medicine, textiles, construction, and beyond. (1) In fact, plastic production has grown exponentially due to the two major advantages, the ease of mass production and resistance to degradation, and unfortunately, both advantages have become an environmental problem.

The effective management of plastic waste has become a global imperative, given our reliance on a linear model in which plastics are manufactured, used once, and then discarded. This has led to the pervasive accumulation of plastic debris in landfills and environmental contamination. Recognizing this issue, numerous initiatives are underway to address the environmental repercussions associated with plastic disposal.

Mechanism of inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro by N3 peptidyl Michael acceptor explained by QM/MM simulations and design of new derivatives with tunable chemical reactivity† Kemel Arafet, a Natalia Serrano-Aparicio, a Alessio Lodola, b Adrian J. Mulholland, c Florenci V. González, d Katarzyna Świderek *a and Vicent Moliner *a Abstract The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) is essential for replication of the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the main targets for drug design.