• antiviral drug
• COVID-19
• N-hydroxyindole derivatives
• Nitazoxanide

Synthesis of molecules with potential antiviral activity with N-hydroxindolic structure, bioisosterically similar to Nitazoxanide, an antiparasitic drug used in the treatment of COVID-19 for pharmacological repositioning. Nitazoxanide is an in vivo deacetylated prodrug to the active metabolite, Tizoxanide. The proposed mechanism of action for Tizoxanide and, consequently, for the newly synthesized derivatives, targets the human enzyme ERp57, also known as PDIA3, a thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase which constitutes a fundamental step for the activation of the viral F protein, responsible for the fusion of the virus to host cells.