Structure Based Ligand Design

Structure-Based Drug Design brings together scientists working on different aspects of the subject, demonstrating the necessary collaboration and interdisciplinary approach to this complex area. The focus is on X-ray crystallographic and computational approaches. The general aspects of these approaches are introduced in the first six articles. The remaining articles provide examples of the application of X-ray crystallography, molecular modelling, molecular dynamics, QSAR, database analysis, and homology modelling. The papers cover a wealth of interesting problems in the design of new and enhanced pharmaceuticals.

The last decade has seen the confluence of several enabling technologies that have allowed protein crystallographic methods to live up to their true potential. Taken together, the numerous recent advances have made it possible to tackle difficult biological targets with a high probability of success: intact bacterial ribosomes have been structurally elucidated, as well as eukaryotic trans-membrane proteins like the potassium channel and GPCRs. It is now possible for medicinal chemists to have access to structural information on their latest small molecule candidates bound to the therapeutic target within days of compound synthesis, allowing structure guided ligand optimization to occur in "real time". Structure-Based Drug Discovery presents an array of methods used to generate crystal structures of biological macromolecules, how to leverage the structural information to design novel ligands anew, and how to iteratively optimize hits and convert them to leads. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Structure-Based Drug Discovery aims to provide scientists interested in adding SBDD to their arsenal of drug discovery methods with well-honed, up-to-date methodologies.

Introducing the most recent advances in crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, molecular modeling techniques, and computational combinatorial chemistry, this unique, interdisciplinary reference explains the application of three-dimensional structural information in the design of pharmaceutical drugs. Furnishing authoritative analyses by world-renowned experts, Structure-Based Drug Design discusses protein structure-based design in optimizing HIV protease inhibitors and details the biochemical, genetic, and clinical data on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase presents recent results on the high-resolution three-dimensional structure of the catalytic core domain of HIV-1 integrase as a foundation for divergent combination therapy focuses on structure-based design strategies for uncovering receptor antagonists to treat inflammatory diseases demonstrates a systematic approach to the design of inhibitory compounds in cancer treatment reviews current knowledge on the Interleukin-1 (IL-1) system and progress in the development of IL-1 modulators describes the influence of structure-based methods in designing capsid-binding inhibitors for relief of the common cold and much more!

Most drugs bind to a clearly defined macromolecular target that is complementary in terms of structure and chemistry. This observation is the basic paradigm of structure-based ligand design. Although this method first emerged in the 1980s, it has already become a powerful tool for pharmaceutical research. Much has been learned, however, since the first attempts to discover drugs on the basis of available biochemical and structural data. Nowadays, structure-based ligand design is an established method for creating drugs with new structural features, for modifying binding activities and pharmacokinetic properties, and for elucidating binding modes and structure-activity relationships. This volume presents the underlying principles of the approach and highlights real-life applications such as the discovery of HIV-protease inhibitors. It shows that structure-based ligand design has many advantages over other more traditional approaches to designing new drugs, providing it is employed properly and with a thorough knowledge of the pitfalls to avoid. The straightforward presentation and extensive list of references to the original literature as well as numerous color figures illustrating structural relationships make this volume an indispensable tool for every scientist working in the area of drug discovery.

This book provides a complete snapshot of various experimental approaches to structure-based and ligand-based drug design and is illustrated with more than 200 images.

The lock-and-key principle formulated by Emil Fischer as early as the end of the 19th century has still not lost any of its significance for the life sciences. The basic aspects of ligand-protein interaction may be summarized under the term 'molecular recognition' and concern the specificity as well as stability of ligand binding. Molecular recognition is thus a central topic in the development of active substances, since stability and specificity determine whether a substance can be used as a drug. Nowadays, computer-aided prediction and intelligent molecular design make a large contribution to the constant search for, e. g., improved enzyme inhibitors, and new concepts such as that of pharmacophores are being developed. An up-to-date presentation of an eternally young topic, this book is an indispensable information source for chemists, biochemists and pharmacologists dealing with the binding of ligands to proteins.

Drug design is a complex, challenging and innovative research area. Structure-based molecular design has transformed the drug discovery approach in modern medicine. Traditionally, focus has been placed on computational, structural or synthetic methods only in isolation. This one-of-akind guide integrates all three skill sets for a complete picture of contemporary structure-based design. This practical approach provides the tools to develop a high-affinity ligand with drug-like properties for a given drug target for which a high-resolution structure exists. The authors use numerous examples of recently developed drugs to present "best practice" methods in structurebased drug design with both newcomers and practicing researchers in mind. By way of a carefully balanced mix of theoretical background and case studies from medicinal chemistry applications, readers will quickly and efficiently master the basic skills of successful drug design. This book is aimed at new and active medicinal chemists, biochemists, pharmacologists, natural product chemists and those working in drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. It is highly recommended as a desk reference to guide students in medicinal and chemical sciences as well as to aid researchers engaged in drug design today.

This book describes some of the most exciting developments for the discovery of new drugs, such as Fragment-based methods. It contains the latest developments in technologies that can be used to obtain the 3-D structures. This book includes experimental approaches using X-ray crystallography and NMR for Fragment-based screening as well as other biophysical methods for studying protein/ligand interactions.