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Apr 28 2021 Read 6 Times Researchers at the University of Birmingham working on extraction of the COVID-19 encounter complex in a form stable enough for identification of future drug target sites, have successfully used polymer-based molecular ‘cookie cutters’ to isolate the complex while keeping it embedded in the cell membrane, so preserving the full structure of the molecule in its original context. The encounter complex is formed when the COVID-19 spike latches onto a binding site on an ACE-2 receptor, which is a complex protein embedded in cell membranes in the lungs and cells that line the nose and airways. Although it was first isolated last year, the methods used involved full extraction of ACE-2 receptors from cell membranes; this removal of the membrane’s supportive structure affects the stability of the receptor, which makes it difficult to study its structure and function. ....