In the early 1900s, Paul Ehrlich first defined pharmacophores as molecule frameworks that carry the essential features responsible for a drug's biological activity, and the modern definition is little changed. The 27 studies here begin by tracing the evolution of the concept in pharmaceutical research, then cover analog-based and receptor-based varieties, new algorithms, and the future of research. Among the specific topics: pharmacophores based on multiple common-feature alignments; modeling programs including HypoGen, DISCO, Catalyst, HipHop, GASP, Chem-X, Apex-3D, CoMFA; pharmacophore-based molecular docking, a technique for developing a pharmacophore model that accommodates inherent protein flexibility; and the effect of variable weights and tolerances on predictive model generation. Books in Print lists only one other book on the topic of pharmacophores. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Edited by world-famous pioneers in chemoinformatics, this is a clearly structured and applications-oriented approach to the topic, providing up-to-date and focused information on the wide range of applications in this exciting field. The authors explain methods and software tools, such that the reader will not only learn the basics but also how to use the different software packages available. Experts describe applications in such different fields as structure-spectra correlations, virtual screening, prediction of active sites, library design, the prediction of the properties of chemicals, the development of new cosmetics products, quality control in food, the design of new materials with improved properties, toxicity modeling, assessment of the risk of chemicals, and the control of chemical processes. The book is aimed at advanced students as well as lectures but also at scientists that want to learn how chemoinformatics could assist them in solving their daily scientific tasks. Together with the corresponding textbook Chemoinformatics - Basic Concepts and Methods (ISBN 9783527331093) on the fundamentals of chemoinformatics readers will have a comprehensive overview of the field.

30 tutorials and more than 100 exercises in chemoinformatics, supported by online software and data sets Chemoinformatics is widely used in both academic and industrial chemical and biochemical research worldwide. Yet, until this unique guide, there were no books offering practical exercises in chemoinformatics methods. Tutorials in Chemoinformatics contains more than 100 exercises in 30 tutorials exploring key topics and methods in the field. It takes an applied approach to the subject with a strong emphasis on problem-solving and computational methodologies. Each tutorial is self-contained and contains exercises for students to work through using a variety of software packages. The majority of the tutorials are divided into three sections devoted to theoretical background, algorithm description and software applications, respectively, with the latter section providing step-by-step software instructions. Throughout, three types of software tools are used: in-house programs developed by the authors, open-source programs and commercial programs which are available for free or at a modest cost to academics. The in-house software and data sets are available on a dedicated companion website. Key topics and methods covered in Tutorials in Chemoinformatics include: Data curation and standardization Development and use of chemical databases Structure encoding by molecular descriptors, text strings and binary fingerprints The design of diverse and focused libraries Chemical data analysis and visualization Structure-property/activity modeling (QSAR/QSPR) Ensemble modeling approaches, including bagging, boosting, stacking and random subspaces 3D pharmacophores modeling and pharmacological profiling using shape analysis Protein-ligand docking Implementation of algorithms in a high-level programming language Tutorials in Chemoinformatics is an ideal supplementary text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in chemoinformatics, bioinformatics, computational chemistry, computational biology, medicinal chemistry and biochemistry. It is also a valuable working resource for medicinal chemists, academic researchers and industrial chemists looking to enhance their chemoinformatics skills.

The book "Drug Selectivity - An Evolving Concept in Medicinal Chemistry" provides a current overview and comprehensive compilation for medicinal chemists that discusses the effects of aiming for multiple targets on the entire drug development process. The result is a broad survey of current and future strategies for drug selectivity in medicinal chemistry with theoretical but also practical aspects. Different strategies are presented and evaluated, such as various design approaches, merged multiple ligands, discovery technologies and a broad range of successful examples of unselective drugs taken from all major disease areas. With its wide-ranging view of an emerging new paradigm in drug development, this handbook is of prime importance for every medicinal and pharmaceutical chemist.

An integrated overview of modern approaches to lead discovery Lead generation is increasingly seen as a distinct and success-determining phase of the drug discovery process. Over recent years, there have been major advances in the understanding of what constitutes a good lead compound and how to improve the chances of finding such a compound. Written by leading scientists and established opinion leaders from industry and academia, this book provides an authoritative overview of the field, as well as the theory, practice, and scope, of the principal Lead Generation Approaches in Drug Discovery, including: The evolution of the lead discovery process, key concepts, current challenges, and future directions Strategies and technologies driving the high-throughput screening (HTS) approach to lead discovery, including the shifting paradigms in the design of compound collections and best practice in the hit confirmation process Knowledge-based in silico or "virtual" screening Theory and practice of the fragment-based approach to lead discovery The opportunities and challenges presented by multi-target drug discovery (MTDD) De novo design of lead compounds and new approaches to estimating the synthetic accessibility of de novo–designed molecules The impact of natural products on drug discovery, and potential of natural product–like compounds for exploring regions of biologically relevant chemical space Using early screening of hits and leads for metabolic, pharmacokinetic, and toxicological liabilities to reduce attrition during the later phases of drug discovery The utility of parallel synthesis and purification in lead discovery With each topic supported by numerous case studies, this is indispensable reading for researchers in industry and academia who wish to keep up to date with the latest strategies and approaches in drug discovery.

Volumes 2 and 3 of the 3D QSAR in Drug Design series aim to review the progress being made in CoMFA and other 3D QSAR approaches since the publication of the highly successful first volume about four years ago. Volume 2 (Ligand-Protein Interactions and Molecular Similarity) divides into three sections dealing with Ligand-Protein Interactions, Quantum Chemical Models and Molecular Dynamics Simulations, and Pharmacophore Modelling and Molecular Similarity, respectively. Volume 3 (Recent Advances) is also divided into three sections, namely 3D QSAR Methodology: CoMFA and Related Approaches, Receptor Models and Other 3D QSAR Approaches, and 3D QSAR Applications. More than seventy distinguished scientists have contributed nearly forty reviews of their work and related research to these two volumes which are of outstanding quality and timeliness. These works present an up-to-date coverage of the latest developments in all fields of 3D QSAR.

This book reviews the advances and challenges of structure-based drug design in the preclinical drug discovery process, addressing various diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis and cancer. Written by internationally recognized researchers, this edited book discusses how the application of the various in-silico techniques, such as molecular docking, virtual screening, pharmacophore modeling, molecular dynamics simulations, and residue interaction networks offers insights into pharmacologically active novel molecular entities. It presents a clear concept of the molecular mechanism of different drug targets and explores methods to help understand drug resistance. In addition, it includes chapters dedicated to natural-product- derived medicines, combinatorial drug discovery, the CryoEM technique for structure-based drug design and big data in drug discovery. The book offers an invaluable resource for graduate and postgraduate students, as well as for researchers in academic and industrial laboratories working in the areas of chemoinformatics, medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacoinformatics.

Helps you choose the right computational tools and techniques to meet your drug design goals Computational Drug Design covers all of the major computational drug design techniques in use today, focusing on the process that pharmaceutical chemists employ to design a new drug molecule. The discussions of which computational tools to use and when and how to use them are all based on typical pharmaceutical industry drug design processes. Following an introduction, the book is divided into three parts: Part One, The Drug Design Process, sets forth a variety of design processes suitable for a number of different drug development scenarios and drug targets. The author demonstrates how computational techniques are typically used during the design process, helping readers choose the best computational tools to meet their goals. Part Two, Computational Tools and Techniques, offers a series of chapters, each one dedicated to a single computational technique. Readers discover the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. Moreover, the book tabulates comparative accuracy studies, giving readers an unbiased comparison of all the available techniques. Part Three, Related Topics, addresses new, emerging, and complementary technologies, including bioinformatics, simulations at the cellular and organ level, synthesis route prediction, proteomics, and prodrug approaches. The book's accompanying CD-ROM, a special feature, offers graphics of the molecular structures and dynamic reactions discussed in the book as well as demos from computational drug design software companies. Computational Drug Design is ideal for both students and professionals in drug design, helping them choose and take full advantage of the best computational tools available. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

This book provides up-to-date information on bioinformatics tools for the discovery and development of new drug molecules. It discusses a range of computational applications, including three-dimensional modeling of protein structures, protein-ligand docking, and molecular dynamics simulation of protein-ligand complexes for identifying desirable drug candidates. It also explores computational approaches for identifying potential drug targets and for pharmacophore modeling. Moreover, it presents structure- and ligand-based drug design tools to optimize known drugs and guide the design of new molecules. The book also describes methods for identifying small-molecule binding pockets in proteins, and summarizes the databases used to explore the essential properties of drugs, drug-like small molecules and their targets. In addition, the book highlights various tools to predict the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME) and toxicity (T) of potential drug candidates. Lastly, it reviews in silico tools that can facilitate vaccine design and discusses their limitations.

This book illustrates, in a comprehensive manner, the most current areas of importance to Safety Pharmacology, a burgeoning unique pharmacological discipline with important ties to academia, industry and regulatory authorities. It provides readers with a definitive collection of topics containing essential information on the latest industry guidelines and overviews current and breakthrough topics in both functional and molecular pharmacology. An additional novelty of the book is that it constitutes academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology perspectives for Safety Pharmacology issues. Each chapter is written by an expert in the area and includes not only a fundamental background regarding the topic but also detailed descriptions of currently accepted, validated models and methods as well as innovative methodologies used in drug discovery.