Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 4, Issue 7, 2004

Combinatorial chemistry has had a major impact on the discovery and optimisation of potential lead compounds. This review details some of the fundamental principles behind combinatorial chemistry and describes a variety of methods employed in the search for new therapeutically interesting compounds including the concept of dynamic combinatorial chemistry as a method of selecting active compounds from a mi Read More

The implementation of appropriate automation can make a significant improvement in productivity at each stage of the drug discovery process, if it is incorporated into an efficient overall process. Automated chemistry has evolved rapidly from the 'combinatorial' techniques implemented in many industrial laboratories in the early 1990's which focused primarily on the hit discovery phase, and were highly dependent on solid- Read More

With the number of protein-ligand complexes available in the Protein Data Bank constantly growing, structure-based approaches to drug design and screening have become increasingly important. Alongside this explosion of structural information, a number of molecular docking methods have been developed over the last years with the aim of maximally exploiting all available structural and chemical information that can Read More

In vitro assays developed for the evaluation of drug-like properties can accelerate the drug development process. The key assays are those for the evaluation of bioavailability, metabolic stability, drug-drug interaction potential, and toxicity. For bioavailability, the human colon carcinoma derived Caco-2 assay is the most widely used, allowing the evaluation of multiple pathways of intestinal absorption including paracellular uptake, Read More

This article reviews the current and future applications of micro reactors in the field of chemistry, biochemistry and drug discovery. The fabrication and physical characterisation of micro reactors, together with details of their use and operation is described. Liquid and gas phase reactions have been used to illustrate the advantages of performing chemical reactions in micro reactors. A brief evaluation of the possible advantages Read More

This review provides an introduction to three of the most well-developed solvent replacement strategies currently under investigation for synthetic chemistry: Ionic liquids, fluorous phase techniques, and supercritical carbon dioxide. They are all fascinating reaction media, and have considerable potential for use in pharmaceutical synthesis. However, this has to be balanced with problems and limitations of the new methods. This r Read More

Microwave assisted organic synthesis (MAOS) is rapidly gaining acceptance as a valuable tool for relieving some of the bottlenecks in the drug discovery process. This article outlines the basic principles behind the technology and summarizes recent trends and areas in drug discovery where microwave technology has made an impact.