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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
08:35
Achieving Efficient Fragment Screening at XChem Facility at Diamond Light Source
Published on: May 29, 2021
Ligand specificity, privileged substructures and protein druggability from fragment-based screening.
Sarah Barelier1, Isabelle Krimm
1Laboratoire des Sciences Analytiques-UMR CNRS 5180, Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, Bât. ESCPE Lyon, Domaine scientifique de la Doua, 69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France.
Current Opinion in Chemical Biology
|March 18, 2011
Summary
Fragment-based screening effectively identifies lead molecules by utilizing small compounds. Their specificity, linked to structure and properties, is crucial for drug discovery and predicting protein druggability.
Area of Science:
- Drug discovery and medicinal chemistry
- Structural biology and biophysics
Background:
- Fragment-based screening (FBS) is a key method for generating lead molecules targeting therapeutic proteins.
- FBS employs small, low molecular-weight compounds (fragments) with limited chemical features.
Observation:
- FBS often yields higher hit rates than traditional High-Throughput Screening (HTS) of drug-like molecules.
- The specificity of fragment hits is a critical consideration in the drug discovery process.
Findings:
- This review demonstrates that fragment specificity correlates with their structural and physicochemical properties.
- Analysis of recent literature reveals insights into privileged fragment scaffolds.
Implications:
- Fragment-based screening plays a vital role in assessing protein druggability.
- Understanding fragment properties enhances lead generation and drug development strategies.
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