Description
Product Usage Information
Ribavirin is supplied as a lyophilized powder. For a 20 mM stock, reconstitute 5 mg of powder in 1.02 ml of DMSO. Working concentrations and length of treatment can vary depending on the desired effect.
Storage
Store lyophilized at -20ºC, desiccated. In lyophilized form, the chemical is stable for 24 months. Once in solution, store at -20ºC and use within 1 month to prevent loss of potency. Aliquot to avoid multiple freeze/thaw cycles.
Background
Ribavirin is a purine ribonucleoside analogue most widely known for its broad-spectrum anti-viral properties against both RNA and DNA viruses. Ribavirin is capable of mimicking the activity of inosine, guanosine, or adenosine and has mutagenic properties that can cause the disruption of viral genome transcription and translation. The monophosphate metabolite is a competitive inhibitor of inosine monophosphate (IMP) dehydrogenase with a K value of 270 nM (1-3). Ribavirin multifariousness enables simultaneous manipulation of both viral and host enzymatic processes and exhibits several immunomodulatory mechanisms including key roles in the mediation of pathways such as ERK, eIF4E, MNK1, EZH2, and MAPK (4,5). Studies have shown that treatment of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) with Ribavirin and interferon-α2b reduces viral replication, making Ribavirin a compound of interest when studying severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (6,7).
Alternate Names
1-β-D-Ribofuranosyl-1H-124-triazole-3-carboxamide; NSC163039
