the hemagglutinin antigen. The composition of the polypeptide is a single chain of six conserved polar amino acids, followed by hydrophilic, variable amino acids. β-Sheets predominate as the secondary level of protein conformation. The structure of trans-sialidase includes a catalytic β-propeller domain, a N-terminal lectin-like domain and an irregular beta-stranded domain inserted into the catalytic domain. Recent emergence of oseltamivir and zanamivir resistant human influenza A(H1N1) H274Y has emphasized the need for suitable expression systems to obtain large quantities of highly pure and stable, recombinant neuraminidase through two separate artificial tetramerization domains that facilitate the formation of catalytically active neuraminidase homotetramers from yeast and Staphylothermus marinus, which allow for secretion of FLAG-tagged proteins and further purification. Mechanism The enzymatic mechanism of influenza virus sialidase has been studied by Taylor et al., shown in Figure 1. The enzyme catalysis process has four steps. The first step involves the distortion of the α-sialoside from a 2C5 chair conformation (the lowest-energy form in solution) to a pseudoboat conformation when the sialoside binds to the sialidase. The second step leads to an oxocarbocation intermediate, the sialosyl cation. The third step is the formation of Neu5Ac initially as the α-anomer, and then mutarotation and release as the more thermodynamically stable β-Neu5Ac. Inhibitors Neuraminidase inhibitors are useful for combating influenza infection: zanamivir, administered by inhalation; oseltamivir, administered orally; peramivir administered parenterally, that is through intravenous or intramuscular injection; and laninamivir which is in phase III clinical trials. There are two major proteins on the surface of influenza virus particles. One is the lectin haemagglutinin protein with three relatively shallow sialic acid-binding sites and the other is enzyme sialidase with the active site in a pocket. Because of the relative deep active site in which low-molecular-weight inhibitors can make multiple favorable interactions and approachable methods of designing transition-state analogues in the hydrolysis of sialosides, the sialidase becomes more attractive anti-influenza drug target than the haemagglutinin. After the X-ray crystal structures of several influenza virus sialidases were available, the structure-based inhibitor design was applied to discover potent inhibitors of this enzyme. The unsaturated sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid [Neu5ac]) derivative 2-deoxy-2, 3-didehydro-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac2en), a sialosyl cation transition-state (Figure 2) analogue, is believed the most potent inhibitor core template. Structurally modified Neu5Ac2en derivatives may give more effective inhibitors. Many Neu5Ac2en-based compounds have been synthesized and tested for their influenza virus sialidase inhibitory potential. For example: The 4-substituted Neu5Ac2en derivatives