Small-angle solution x-ray scattering and biochemical characterization studies at the Bio-CAT beamline 18-ID at the APS are being used to study the structure of portions of RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This RNA contains the genetic instructions the virus uses to replicate itself. These experiments are designed to see how these structures change when they interact with selected small molecules that are potential drug candidates. This work is a collaboration between Blanton Tolbert (Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University), Amanda Hargrove (Duke University) , Srinivas Chakravarthy (Illinois Institute of Technology, pictured here while wearing a face mask as required by Illinois’ COVID-19 prevention controls) and a nuclear magnetic resonance consortium coordinated by Harald Schwalbe at the Goethe University (Germany). NOTE: No live coronavirus is used in studies at the APS. 

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