Diversity-Based Libraries

Wyss PC, Gerber P, Hartman PG, Hubschwerlen C, Locher H, Marty HP, Stahl M. Novel dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors. Structure-based versus diversity-based library design and high-throughput synthesis and screening. J Med Chem 2003 46 2304-12. 

Advances in chemical synthesis have enabled considerable sophistication in the construction of diverse compound libraries to probe protein function [61, 62). However, few general techniques exist that can directly assess binding mechanisms and evaluate ligand afEnities in a multiplexed format. To realize the full potential of combinatorial chemistry in the drug discovery process, generic and efficient tools must be applied that combine mixture-based techniques to characterize protein-ligand interactions with the strengths of diversity-oriented chemical synthesis. 

The advent of more accurate and rapid tools in chemoin-formatics and virtual screening makes it possible to design and synthesize a small subset of representative compounds (focused library) of a larger library. Out of various improved methods these two diversity- or structure-based approaches are frequently exercised in the design of a focused library. Once the 3D coordinates of a protein target are determined by either X-ray crystal structures or NMR, a structure-based library design is a more productive and viable approach. 

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