Title: Receptor-based pharmacophore tool for design and development of next-generation drugs

Authors: M. Udayakumar; Pupala Suresh Kumar; K. Hemavathi; P. Shanmugapriya; R. Seenivasagam

Addresses: Department of Bioinformatics, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613402, Tamilnadu, India ' Department of Bioinformatics, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613402, Tamilnadu, India ' Department of Bioinformatics, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613402, Tamilnadu, India ' Department of Bioinformatics, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613402, Tamilnadu, India ' Division of Drug Discovery and Development, Center of Molecular and Computational Biology, Department of Botany, St. Joseph's College, P.B.27094, 36, Langford Road, Bangalore, Karnataka 560027, India

Abstract: Drug discovery is an intricate process in which new drugs are designed or discovered. A pharmacophore is an essential ensemble of steric and electronic features for drug discovery, which is necessary to ensure optimal interactions with a specific target structure and to trigger its biological response. Here we present our innovative approach: the Receptor-Based Pharmacophoric Tool (RBPT), a transparent user friendly GUI sphere that generates pharmacophores using the structure of the target protein at the specified binding site. The pharmacophore generated for the specified binding site of a target can be used in virtual screening and for further studies.

Keywords: drug discovery; pharmacophores; virtual screening; binding sites; drug design; drug development; next-generation drugs; bioinformatics; proteins.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBRA.2013.056076

International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications, 2013 Vol.9 No.5, pp.487 - 516

Received: 28 Mar 2011
Accepted: 31 Mar 2011
Published online: 18 Sep 2014 *

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