RLO: Lock and Key Hypothesis

 

Drug Development

Much of the work of drug development is concerned with designing or refining the shape of drug molecules so that they have an ever-closer fit with the target molecule. However, sometimes this is like trying to cut a replacement key without knowing what either the original key or the lock looks like! Some research groups harness the vast power of individual PCs linked over the internet to run screensavers that search out potential keys by minutely altering drug molecules and assessing their new 3D shapes against the lock, that is, the receptor being targeted.

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