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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Incorporating Target Protein Structure Flexibility and Dynamics in Computational Drug Discovery Using Ensemble-Based Docking Analysis
Published on: June 20, 2025
Data-driven docking for the study of biomolecular complexes
Aalt D J van Dijk1, Rolf Boelens, Alexandre M J J Bonvin
1Department of NMR Spectroscopy, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, 3584CH, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
With the amount of genetic information available, a lot of attention has focused on systems biology, in particular biomolecular interactions. Considering the huge number of such interactions, and their often weak and transient nature, conventional experimental methods such as X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy are not sufficient to gain structural insight into these. A wealth of biochemical and/or biophysical data can, however, readily be obtained for biomolecular complexes. Combining these data with docking (the process of modeling the 3D structure of a complex from its known constituents) should provide valuable structural information and complement the classical structural methods. In this review we discuss and illustrate the various sources of data that can be used to map interactions and their combination with docking methods to generate structural models of the complexes. Finally a perspective on the future of this kind of approach is given.
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