The design and enzyme-bound crystal structure of indoline based peptidomimetic inhibitors of hepatitis C virus NS3 protease

The design of a series of peptidomimetic inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus NS3 protease is described. These inhibitors feature an indoline-2-carboxamide as a novel heterocyclic replacement for the P3 amino acid residue and N-terminal capping group of tripeptide based inhibitors. The crystal structure of the ternary NS3/NS4A/inhibitor complex for the most active molecule in this series highlights its suitability as an N-terminal capping group of a dipeptide inhibitor of the NS3 protease.