LOOPS AND SECONDARY STRUCTURE MIMETICS - DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS IN BASIC SCIENCE AND RATIONAL DRUG DESIGN

One goal of protein design and structural biochemistry is the reduction of complex molecules to small functional units that are amenable to high resolution analysis and rapid modification. We have developed a variety of small molecules which biochemically and biologically mimic the combining sites of proteins of the immunoglobulin superfamily. The chemical and biological properties of peptide mimetics suggest that these analogs can be used as indicators for new pharmaceutical agents. Mimetics are powerful tools for the study of molecular recognition since they are small in size, maintain solubility in physiologic fluids and are amenable to detailed structural studies. As such, they represent a step toward the rational design of low molecular weight non-peptide pharmaceutical agents devoid of some of the shortcomings of conventional peptides. Here we discuss the rationale and approaches for the development of these molecules, and their current and future applications.