DNA helps build molecular libraries for drug screening

DNA helps build molecular libraries for drug screening -

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Summary

in painstaking work to synthesize a large number of compounds and identify those that are the best drug candidates, researchers have grown a new lab assistant can: DNA. At a meeting last month just outside of Boston, chemists and biologists have discussed the promise of DNA encoded chemical libraries (LEDs), which are based on the unique talents of DNA to track, select, and even synthesize compounds that bind to enzymes, receptors, and other biological targets. Technology enables basic scientists and small businesses to generate impressive libraries of molecules on a scale once reserved for large pharmaceutical companies and choose from the most useful compounds. Faster, less expensive methods of screening and more flexible than traditional, LEDs are a potential game changer for scholars who want to probe the function of biological molecules and they have already given drug candidates entering clinical trials.

• ↵ * Trisha Gura is a writer Boston.

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