Synthetic biology meets medicine: ’programmable molecular scissors’ could help fight COVID-19 infection

Cambridge scientists have used synthetic biology to create artificial enzymes programmed to target the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and destroy the virus, an approach that could be used to develop a new generation of antiviral drugs. XNAzymes are molecular scissors which recognise a particular sequence in the RNA, then chop it up Alex Taylor Enzymes are naturally occurring biological catalysts, which enable the chemical transformations required for our bodies to function - from translating the genetic code into proteins, right through to digesting food. Although most enzymes are proteins, some of these crucial reactions are catalysed by RNA, a chemical cousin of DNA, which can fold into enzymes known as ribozymes. Some classes of ribozyme are able to target specific sequences in other RNA molecules and cut them precisely. In 2014, Dr Alex Taylor and colleagues discovered that artificial genetic material known as XNA - in other words, synthetic chemical alternatives to RNA and DNA not found in nature - could be used to create the world's first fully-artificial enzymes, which Taylor named XNAzymes. At the beginning, XNAzymes were inefficient, requiring unrealistic laboratory conditions to function. Earlier this year, however, his lab reported a new generation of XNAzymes , engineered to be much more stable and efficient under conditions inside cells.