The destruction of virus'; has there been research that targets a
virus' glycoprotein spikes -- thereby preventing a virus from entering
a cell?  I'm also interested in what chemicals are known to dissolve
or unassemble glycoprotein?

Dear jscnet,  

Thank you for your question. However, it seems, that it has better
chances to be answered, if you amended your price. The pricing guide
for $2 - $5 questions:
 
""The Google Answers Pricing Guide:   
   
$2 - $5  ·  Can be answered with a single link or a single piece of  
information. Sometimes, if a researcher is personally interested in  
the question's subject, they may provide a longer answer.  
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  ·  Only 60% of the questions asked in this price range are answered.
   
http://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html"

I'll have a go.  no web references since this is all from my memory (and its free)

there are many (probably not been counted accurately really) 
sorts of viruses - when you look at a virus through an electron
microscope at many of them, the glycoprotein spikes can be seen
sticking out of the virus coat, which is usually a bunch of lipids
(these are fat-like molecules which are the soft part of all cell
surfaces.)

here's a link to a virus attached to a cell surface, perhaps trying to
enter - the spikes can be seen very faintly

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/aids-naiad-virus.jpg

in any case, to get to your question, in viral treatments, which are
effective so far, there aren't really any which destroy or degrade the
viruses.  All medicines try to weaken the invading virus or slow it so
that the body will clear them itself, just like when you get the flu -
you don't have to take any medicine, but you'll feel awful.  A good
drug would hope to 'disarm' the virus, prevent it from getting into
your cells, or growing within your cells so your body could clear it
away.

if you do a google search: influenza inhibitors
you'll see that there are a lot of drugs developed in the past few
years to prevent the most common flu viruses from binding to cells and
entering them.
They stick in the tiny pocket of the glycoprotein spike which sticks
to cells specifically. (either neuraminidase or hemagglutinin - these
are the two different proteins on the virus coat)

HIV inhibitors dont affect the viral coat proteins at all - they
inhibit an enzyme the virus uses to assemble itself in the cell.  it
doesn't so much destroy the virus so much as prevent it from maturing,
while your cell will take inert protein and clear it away eventually.

As with HIV herpes inhibitory drugs exist - since herpes and HIV hide
out inside the cell as DNA they cannot be really stopped by drugs -
the body never clears then away and nobody has really been cured of
herpes or HIV infection yet. The drugs which inhibit herpes just calm
the virus down when its active and makes the sores go away until the
next time.

Although the previous comment is correct in stating that there are no
inhibitors that can destroy the viral glycoproteins there are
relativly new drugs that can inhibit viral entry.  These new classes
of drugs know as "entry/fusion inhibitors" can bind to the
glycoproteins and keep them from interacting with the cellular
chemokine receptors which is required for viral entry.  The only FDA
approved drug on the market to date is fuzeon aka T-20.  This is made
by Roche Trimeris.  You can get more info on how the drug works from
their website.  There are also some nice animations that explain how
they work

http://www.trimeris.com/

For more information about glycoproteins of HIV check out these
BioAfrica HIV Protein Resource webpages:

Surface Glycoprotein (gp120):
http://bioafrica.mrc.ac.za/proteomics/ENV-GP120prot.html

Transmembrane Glycoprotein (gp41):
http://bioafrica.mrc.ac.za/proteomics/ENV-GP41prot.html

For more information about T-20 (Fuzeon/Enfuvirtide) check out this
NIH AIDSinfo webpage:
http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/drugs/drugsdetail.asp?rec_id=162