Virtual screening strategies in medicinal chemistry: the state of the art and current challenges

Curr Top Med Chem. 2014;14(16):1899-912. doi: 10.2174/1568026614666140929120749.

Abstract

Virtual screening (VS) techniques are well-established tools in the modern drug discovery process, mainly used for hit finding in drug discovery. The availability of knowledge of structural information, which includes an increasing number of 3D protein structures and the readiness of free databases of commercially available smallmolecules, provides a broad platform for VS. This review summarizes the current developments in VS regarding chemical databases and highlights the achievements as well as the challenges with an emphasis on a recent example of the successful application for the identification of new hits for sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • 14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • 14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors / chemistry
  • 14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Animals
  • Chemistry, Pharmaceutical
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical*
  • Humans
  • Sterol 14-Demethylase / metabolism*
  • Trypanosoma cruzi / enzymology

Substances

  • 14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors
  • Sterol 14-Demethylase