Exploration of new uracil-based compounds as novel inhibitors of Hepatitis C Virus replication

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a major public health problem worldwide. While highly efficacious directly-acting antiviral agents have been developed in recent years, their high costs and relative inaccessibility make their use limited. In this thesis, new uracil-based compounds have been evaluated as potential antiviral drugs against HCV. Using several biochemical and virological assays to investigate virus infection and replication, it has been shown that these compounds are able to significantly reduce viral genomic replication with their IC50 values in the nanomolar range. Finally, these compounds have been shown to block the de novo RNA synthesis and that effect is dependent on a chemical structure of the compounds.