Sustainable Practices in Medicinal Chemistry Part 2: Green by Design

J Med Chem. 2017 Jul 27;60(14):5955-5968. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01837. Epub 2017 Apr 12.

Abstract

With the development of ever-expanding synthetic methodologies, a medicinal chemist's toolkit continues to swell. However, with finite time and resources as well as a growing understanding of our field's environment impact, it is critical to refine what can be made to what should be made. This review seeks to highlight multiple cheminformatic approaches in drug discovery that can influence and triage design and execution impacting the likelihood of rapidly generating high-value molecules in a more sustainable manner. This strategy gives chemists the tools to design and refine vast libraries, stress "druglikeness", and rapidly identify SAR trends. Project success, i.e., identification of a clinical candidate, is then reached faster with fewer molecules with the farther-reaching ramification of using fewer resources and generating less waste, thereby helping "green" our field.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic
  • Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / methods*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Drug Discovery / methods*
  • Green Chemistry Technology*
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / chemical synthesis*
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / chemistry
  • Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Pharmaceutical Preparations