Biochemistry Questions Biochemistry Questions / Describe the process of structure-based drug design using HIV protease inhibitors as a case study. How can understanding the molecular structure of a target enzyme lead to the development of effective drugs?

Understanding the structure of the target for the drug molecule can help the development of effective drugs through the use of computational biology. Screening can be conducted in silico, which is faster and cheaper than wet lab studies.

Small molecule drugs can be developed for a specific target, allowing effective compounds to be identified.

In the case of HIV protease inhibitors, the inhibitor was designed to have a chiral structure. One side of the molecule is low activity but highly soluble, while the other side has a low solubility and high activity. This couples the beneficial properties of the two molecules. Subsequent screening of different molecular structures led to the formation of indinavir – the first effect anti-HIV drug developed (but no longer used due to its adverse effect