Anti-viral azide containing compounds

A method of tracking a virus in vivo comprising the steps of

• contacting cultured cells or a subject with an azide-modified carbohydrate, azide-modified fatty acid, azide-modified isoprenoid lipid, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof;
• contacting the cultured cells or the subject with an alkyne labeled reporter molecule to result in a reporter-labeled virus;
• and
• tracking the reporter-labeled virus in the cultured cells or the subject,
• wherein the azide-modified fatty acid or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, has the formula:
• Y—CH2—X—CO2H
• wherein,
• Y is H or an azido group;
• and
• when Y is an azido group, X is a linear or branched carbon chain comprising 12 to 28 carbons, wherein one or more of said carbons may be independently replaced by an oxygen, selenium, silicon, sulfur, SO, SO2 or NR1, or wherein one or more pairs of said carbons adjacent to one another may be attached to one another by a double or triple bond;
• or
• when Y is H, X is a linear or branched carbon chain comprising 6 to 28 carbons, wherein one hydrogen on one of said carbons is replaced with an azido group and wherein one or more of said carbons not having an the azido group attached thereto may be independently replaced by an oxygen, selenium, silicon, sulfur, SO, SO2 or NR1, or wherein one or more pairs of said carbons adjacent to one another and not having an azido group may be attached to one another by a double or triple bond;
• wherein, R1 is H or an alkyl comprising 1 to 6 carbons.