scholarly journals Diamond: shedding light on structure-based drug discovery

Author(s):  
David G. Brown ◽  
Elizabeth J. Shotton

Structure-based drug design has become a key tool for the development of novel drugs. The process involves elucidating the three-dimensional structure of the potential drug molecule bound to the target protein that has been identified as playing a key role in the disease state. Using this three-dimensional information facilitates the process of making improvements to the potential drug molecule by highlighting existing and possible new interactions within the binding site. This knowledge is used to inform increases in potency and selectivity of the molecules as well as to help improve other drug-like properties. The speed and numbers of samples that can be studied, combined with the improved resolution of the structures that can be obtained using synchrotron radiation, have had a significant impact on the utilization of crystallography in the drug discovery process.

Author(s):  
Gurusamy Mariappan ◽  
Anju Kumari

Virtual screening plays an important role in the modern drug discovery process. The pharma companies invest huge amounts of money and time in drug discovery and screening. However, at the final stage of clinical trials, several molecules fail, which results in a large financial loss. To overcome this, a virtual screening tool was developed with super predictive power. The virtual screening tool is not only restricted tool small molecules but also to macromolecules such as protein, enzyme, receptors, etc. This gives an insight into structure-based and Ligand-based drug design. VS gives reliable information to direct the process of drug discovery (e.g., when the 3D image of the receptor is known, structure-based drug design is recommended). The pharmacophore-based model is advisable when the information about the receptor or any macromolecule is unknown. In this ADME, parameters such as Log P, bioavailability, and QSAR can be used as filters. This chapter shows both models with various representative examples that facilitate the scientist to use computational screening tools in modern drug discovery processes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 19-21
Author(s):  
Michael Ginger

New drugs are needed urgently to win the war against parasites that cause many serious diseases that are endemic or resurgent in some of the World's poorest countries. Post-genomic technologies provide a powerful resource that can be exploited during the drug-discovery process. With genome sequencers able to uncover secrets from even the most experimentally intractable of pathogens, the complete and annotated genomes from a number of the most medically important parasites are now, or will soon be, published. Already, the information that has been released from these projects has been put to good use in identifying new potential drug targets.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob L.M. van Montfort ◽  
Paul Workman

Knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of therapeutically relevant targets has informed drug discovery since the first protein structures were determined using X-ray crystallography in the 1950s and 1960s. In this editorial we provide a brief overview of the powerful impact of structure-based drug design (SBDD), which has its roots in computational and structural biology, with major contributions from both academia and industry. We describe advances in the application of SBDD for integral membrane protein targets that have traditionally proved very challenging. We emphasize the major progress made in fragment-based approaches for which success has been exemplified by over 30 clinical drug candidates and importantly three FDA-approved drugs in oncology. We summarize the articles in this issue that provide an excellent snapshot of the current state of the field of SBDD and fragment-based drug design and which offer key insights into exciting new developments, such as the X-ray free-electron laser technology, cryo-electron microscopy, open science approaches and targeted protein degradation. We stress the value of SBDD in the design of high-quality chemical tools that are used to interrogate biology and disease pathology, and to inform target validation. We emphasize the need to maintain the scientific rigour that has been traditionally associated with structural biology and extend this to other methods used in drug discovery. This is particularly important because the quality and robustness of any form of contributory data determines its usefulness in accelerating drug design, and therefore ultimately in providing patient benefit.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Abdul Majeed ◽  
Muhammad Rizwan Khan ◽  
Nazar Muhammad Ranjha ◽  
Muhammad Hanif ◽  
Syed Nisar Hussain ◽  
...  

Microparticles are one of the recent controlled release dosage form, compressed in the form of tablets or filled in capsules. In this review different methods of preparations and their effects on physical properties i.e. Size, shape and porosity which can be controlled by ingredients used or process variables and characterization will be discussed. Future dimensions of these dosage forms are numerous when it comes to its application in drug delivery and to overcome issues associated with new drug molecule in drug discovery process.


Author(s):  
Mark A. Griep ◽  
Marjorie L. Mikasen

ReAction! gives a scientist's and artist's response to the dark and bright sides of chemistry found in 140 films, most of them contemporary Hollywood feature films but also a few documentaries, shorts, silents, and international films. Even though there are some examples of screen chemistry between the actors and of behind-the-scenes special effects, this book is really about the chemistry when it is part of the narrative. It is about the dualities of Dr. Jekyll vs. inventor chemists, the invisible man vs. forensic chemists, chemical weapons vs. classroom chemistry, chemical companies that knowingly pollute the environment vs. altruistic research chemists trying to make the world a better place to live, and, finally, about people who choose to experiment with mind-altering drugs vs. the drug discovery process. Little did Jekyll know when he brought the Hyde formula to his lips that his personality split would provide the central metaphor that would come to describe chemistry in the movies. This book explores the two movie faces of this supposedly neutral science. Watching films with chemical eyes, Dr. Jekyll is recast as a chemist engaged in psychopharmaceutical research but who becomes addicted to his own formula. He is balanced by the often wacky inventor chemists who make their discoveries by trial-and-error.


Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 546
Author(s):  
Miroslava Nedyalkova ◽  
Vasil Simeonov

A cheminformatics procedure for a partitioning model based on 135 natural compounds including Flavonoids, Saponins, Alkaloids, Terpenes and Triterpenes with drug-like features based on a descriptors pool was developed. The knowledge about the applicability of natural products as a unique source for the development of new candidates towards deadly infectious disease is a contemporary challenge for drug discovery. We propose a partitioning scheme for unveiling drug-likeness candidates with properties that are important for a prompt and efficient drug discovery process. In the present study, the vantage point is about the matching of descriptors to build the partitioning model applied to natural compounds with diversity in structures and complexity of action towards the severe diseases, as the actual SARS-CoV-2 virus. In the times of the de novo design techniques, such tools based on a chemometric and symmetrical effect by the implied descriptors represent another noticeable sign for the power and level of the descriptors applicability in drug discovery in establishing activity and target prediction pipeline for unknown drugs properties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Kagami ◽  
Joel Roca-Martínez ◽  
Jose Gavaldá-García ◽  
Pathmanaban Ramasamy ◽  
K. Anton Feenstra ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of COVID-19, consists of an assembly of proteins that determine its infectious and immunological behavior, as well as its response to therapeutics. Major structural biology efforts on these proteins have already provided essential insights into the mode of action of the virus, as well as avenues for structure-based drug design. However, not all of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins, or regions thereof, have a well-defined three-dimensional structure, and as such might exhibit ambiguous, dynamic behaviour that is not evident from static structure representations, nor from molecular dynamics simulations using these structures. Main We present a website (https://bio2byte.be/sars2/) that provides protein sequence-based predictions of the backbone and side-chain dynamics and conformational propensities of these proteins, as well as derived early folding, disorder, β-sheet aggregation, protein-protein interaction and epitope propensities. These predictions attempt to capture the inherent biophysical propensities encoded in the sequence, rather than context-dependent behaviour such as the final folded state. In addition, we provide the biophysical variation that is observed in homologous proteins, which gives an indication of the limits of their functionally relevant biophysical behaviour. Conclusion The https://bio2byte.be/sars2/ website provides a range of protein sequence-based predictions for 27 SARS-CoV-2 proteins, enabling researchers to form hypotheses about their possible functional modes of action.


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