Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is an envelope glycoprotein that binds angiotensin converting enzyme 2 as an entry receptor.
Binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to ACE2 is disabled by thiol-based drugs; evidence from in vitro SARS-CoV-2 infection studies