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THE
THE

CHEMISTRY
CHEMISTRY

BEHIND
BEHIND

VIRUS COVID-19
VIRUS COVID-19

ost viruses consist of three components: the in this way – they are the right size and shape to latch
genetic material, some proteins and a lipid onto the ACE-2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2)
Mlayer. In the case of SARS-Cov-2 (the virus receptor attached to the outer surface of cells in the lungs
responsible for the Covid-19 disease), the genetic material (specifically the pneumocytes type 1 cells that make up the
is a combination of 30,000 repeated units of RNA, some lining of the lungs), arteries, heart, kidney, and intestines.
of its proteins bind to, and protect, this RNA whilst others Once attached, the genetic material is moved into the cell
act as spikes to anchor to human cells and the lipid layer and takes over its replication system – producing many
acts to protect the whole assembly. copies of the virus. It is relevant to note that since ACE-2
manages blood pressure by catalysing the cleavage of
The base of genetics is either DNA or RNA and acts
angiotensin II into angiotensin when patients with high
as a set of instructions. DNA is a famous double helix of
blood pressure get Covid-19, this interference in the activity
nucleotide base pairs. The RNA is a single strand of the
of ACE-2 means they are more affected by the virus.
same chemistry. SARS-Cov-2 consists of about 30,000
nucleotides repeated units in a single strand. It was Lipid layers are built from surfactants (surface active
sequenced early on. chemicals) – one end is hydrophilic, and the other end is
oleophilic (or hydrophobic). When dispersed in water above
Proteins, or polypeptides, are polymers of amino acids.
a particular concentration, the oleophilic ends cluster
In all proteins, the stereochemistry of different amino
together and form vesicles or sheets. These vesicles make
acids, combined with the hydrogen bonding between
up the “bags” that cells use as containers. The same is true
various amino acids, often quite displaced along the chain,
of viruses – the lipid layer acts as protection against the
causes them to fold into specific shapes. They sometimes
environment.
function as catalysts to drive the chemical reactions that
power biology or they can act as one half of a lock and key
attachment mechanism. Indranil Chakraborty
Department of Science (Chemistry)
The infamous “spikes” on the coronavirus are formed
162 Techno India Group Public School