Ligand-receptor interactions molecules

Allosteric binding occurs when two molecules bind to different sites on the target. When the two molecules are identical, it is termed homotropic interaction. If the molecules differ from each other, it is termed heterotropic interaction. Binding is competitive when two different ligand molecules compete for the same site. We discuss ligand binding further in Chapter 3. The specificity of ligand-receptor interaction is illustrated in Exhibit 2.9. 

The main purpose of this section has been to highlight the rapid progress over recent years in studies of ligand-receptor interactions at a molecular level, and the new opportunities that arise for peptide mimetic design. This also emphasizes the need for new approaches and molecular tools in the design of conformationally defined, small molecule peptide and protein mimetics, which is the main topic of the remaining sections in this article. 

In 1996, Sheridan et al. [16] were the first to use pharmacophoric atom types for an autocorrelation approach. This technique is suited to characterize ligand-receptor interactions in a general way, allowing for more different but equally interacting molecules to be identified as similar. Sheridan et al. also extended the topological Carhart approach to the 3D case, and this was soon followed up by a binary representation of such a descriptor [17]. In 2003, Stiefl and Baumann [18] reported an autocorrelation approach using surface points representing pharmacophoric features. 

The pseudoreceptor modeling concept was utilized for (i) reconstruction of experimentally determined receptor sites, (ii) exploration of crucial ligand-receptor interaction sites and (iii) prediction of pharmacological activities of molecules, sometimes compared with results derived from other 3D-QSAR techniques. 

In the work described above, chemically distinct bilayer arrays were created with common aqueous solutions above them. Another important goal is to address aqueous solutions above an array of planar supported bilayers. In combination with surface specific detection, this strategy would enable the rapid screening of a library of soluble molecules for their efficacy in inhibiting ligand-receptor interactions in a fluid membrane environment that is similar to in vivo conditions.13... 

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