NMR STRUCTURE-BASED DRUG DESIGN

NMR is a useful tool for rapidly determining the conformations of receptor-bound ligands and identifying those protions of the ligand in contact with the receptor. In addition, the complete 3D structures of receptors and ligand/receptor complexes can be obtained using recently developed heteronuclear multi-dimensional NMR techniques. This NMR-derived structural information is potentially useful for aiding in the design of improved pharmaceutical agents. Approaches for utilizing the NMR-derived structural information along with the computational tools that facilitate this process are discussed.