RSC Medicinal Chemistry Blog

PNA-encoded libraries can selectively identify covalently bound molecules – HOT article

02 Sep 2016

A new way of screening for small molecules using PNA-encoded libraries has been reported in MedChemComm. The technique, by Nicolas Winssinger’s group at the University of Geneva, identifies molecules that bind covalently to specific proteins. It could help to find new potent drugs in future.

DNA or PNA-encoded libraries are becoming a popular technique to easily screen large numbers of small molecules. However, it is often difficult to distinguish covalently binding molecules from those that bind non-covalently but with high affinity. Researchers are especially interested in covalent inhibitors as they permanently deactivate proteins and can make powerful drugs, with examples including aspirin and omeprazole.

Winssinger’s group synthesised two libraries of small molecules that were tagged with PNA “barcodes” and immobilised on a surface to form microarrays. These were incubated with a kinase solution and then washed. The group used a washing procedure which removed kinase bound with high-affinity non-covalent bonds, but left any kinase that was covalently bound to molecules. The DNA-PNA bonds were undamaged by the washing, and allowed easy identification and discrimination of the covalently bound and non-covalently bound molecules.

The method could be combined with other techniques such as next-generation sequencing in future. It promises to be the next step in efficient and rapid drug discovery.

Read the full article here:

Screening for covalent inhibitors using DNA display of small molecule libraries functionalized with cysteine reactive moieties
C. Zambaldo, J.-P. Daguer, J. Saarbach, S. Barluenga and N. Winssinger
Med. Chem. Commun. 2016, 7, 1340-1351

Part of the DNA Encoded Libraries themed collection in MedChemComm.

Susannah May is a guest web writer for the RSC Journal blogs. She currently works in the Publishing Department of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and has a keen interest in biology and biomedicine, and the frontiers of their intersection with chemistry. She can be found on Twitter using @SusannahCIMay.

Comments Off on PNA-encoded libraries can selectively identify covalently bound molecules – HOT article

What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

01 Sep 2016

By Michaela Mühlberg.

The articles below are some of the most read MedChemComm articles in April, May and June 2016.

The discovery of a novel antibiotic for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infections: a story of an effective academic–industrial partnership
John Mann, Peter W. Taylor, Colin R. Dorgan, Peter D. Johnson, Francis X. Wilson, Richard Vickers, Aaron G Dale and Stephen Neidle
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00238A, Review Article

Multivalent glycoconjugates as vaccines and potential drug candidates
Sumati Bhatia, Mathias Dimde and Rainer Haag
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00143E, Review Article

Bacterial lipid membranes as promising targets to fight antimicrobial resistance, molecular foundations and illustration through the renewal of aminoglycoside antibiotics and emergence of amphiphilic aminoglycosides
Marie-Paule Mingeot-Leclercq and Jean-Luc Décout
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00503E, Review Article

Surface plasmon resonance for the characterization of bacterial polysaccharide antigens: a review
Barbara Brogioni and Francesco Berti
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00088A, Review Article

Mechanisms of resistance to membrane-disrupting antibiotics in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria
Kfir B. Steinbuch and Micha Fridman
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00389J, Review Article

Towards understanding cell penetration by stapled peptides
Qian Chu, Raymond E. Moellering, Gerard J. Hilinski, Young-Woo Kim, Tom N. Grossmann, Johannes T.-H. Yeh and Gregory L. Verdine
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00131A, Concise Article

Polypharmacology modelling using proteochemometrics (PCM): recent methodological developments, applications to target families, and future prospects
Isidro Cortés-Ciriano, Qurrat Ul Ain, Vigneshwari Subramanian, Eelke B. Lenselink, Oscar Méndez-Lucio, Adriaan P. IJzerman, Gerd Wohlfahrt, Peteris Prusis, Thérèse E. Malliavin, Gerard J. P. van Westen and Andreas Bender
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00216D, Review Article

Covalent tethering of fragments for covalent probe discovery
Stefan G. Kathman and Alexander V. Statsyuk
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00518C, Review Article

Endless resistance. Endless antibiotics?
Jed F. Fisher and Shahriar Mobashery
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00394F, Review Article

Identification of an inhibitor of the ubiquitin–proteasome system that induces accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins in the absence of blocking of proteasome function
Caroline Haglund, Chitralekha Mohanty, Mårten Fryknäs, Padraig D’Arcy, Rolf Larsson, Stig Linder and Linda Rickardson
DOI: 10.1039/C3MD00386H, Concise Article

Structural biology and chemistry of protein arginine methyltransferases
Matthieu Schapira and Renato Ferreira de Freitas
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00269E, Review Article

eCF309: a potent, selective and cell-permeable mTOR inhibitor
Craig Fraser, Neil O. Carragher and Asier Unciti-Broceta
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00493D, Research Article

Mechanisms of resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics: overview and perspectives
Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova and Kristin J. Labby
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00344J, Review Article

The evolution of drug discovery: from phenotypes to targets, and back
Hassan Al-Ali
DOI: 10.1039/C6MD00129G, Review Article

Design and synthesis of potent and selective inhibitors of BRD7 and BRD9 bromodomains
Duncan A. Hay, Catherine M. Rogers, Oleg Fedorov, Cynthia Tallant, Sarah Martin, Octovia P. Monteiro, Susanne Müller, Stefan Knapp, Christopher J. Schofield and Paul E. Brennan
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00152H, Concise Article

Label-free technologies for target identification and validation
Jing Li, Hua Xu, Graham M. West and Lyn H. Jones
DOI: 10.1039/C6MD00045B, Review Article

Ambient mass spectrometry technologies for the detection of falsified drugs
María J. Culzoni, Prabha Dwivedi, Michael D. Green, Paul N. Newton and Facundo M. Fernández
DOI: 10.1039/C3MD00235G, Review Article

2-[18F]Fluoroethyl tosylate – a versatile tool for building 18F-based radiotracers for positron emission tomography
Torsten Kniess, Markus Laube, Peter Brust and Jörg Steinbach
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00303B, Review Article

Rational design of protein–protein interaction inhibitors
Didier Rognan
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00328D, Review Article

Synthesis of α-brominated phosphonates and their application as phosphate bioisosteres
A. Michael Downey and Christopher W. Cairo
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00255E, Review Article

Thermoresponsive fluorinated small-molecule drugs: a new concept for efficient localized chemotherapy
Catherine M. Clavel, Patrycja Nowak-Sliwinska, Emilia Păunescu and Paul J. Dyson
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00409H, Review Article

Targeting the trehalose utilization pathways of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Sandeep Thanna and Steven J. Sucheck
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00376H, Review Article

Keep up-to-date with the latest issues of MedChemComm by joining our e-alerts.

Comments Off on What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

RSC Organic Division Poster Symposium 2016

01 Aug 2016

By Michaela Mühlberg.

Headline sponsored by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd.

This poster symposium for final year organic chemistry PhD students will take place at The Royal Society of Chemistry at Burlington House, in London, Monday 5 December 2016.

Abstract submission is now open!

The closing date for abstract submissions is Monday 3 October 2016. Get more information or submit an abstract now.

This symposium offers final year PhD students a chance to showcase their research to their peers, leading academics and industrial chemists. It is open to all branches of organic chemistry – in its broadest interpretation – and has a tradition of being the most competitive and highly-regarded organic chemistry symposium for PhD students in the UK and Ireland.

There will be a first prize of £500, two runner-up prizes, and a ‘selected by Industry’ prize. Industrial delegates will select this winner based on the potential for application in an industrial context.

We would like to thank F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd. and our industry sponsors for their generous support of this event.

Comments Off on RSC Organic Division Poster Symposium 2016

‘Microbial protein targets: towards understanding and intervention’ meeting

19 Jul 2016

By Michaela Mühlberg.

Hosted by The British Society of Parasitology in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry

Microbial protein targets: towards understanding and intervention

14–16 September 2016, Durham, UK

This symposium will bring together leading expertise in protein structure determination, biochemical characterization and chemical biology to explore the most recent advances in the understanding of protein function and inhibition in microbial pathogens – both bacteria and parasites.

An exciting line-up of speakers will present their recent work in the area. Some of the confirmed speakers are:

Chris Abell University of Cambridge, UK
Gerald Spaeth Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Ed Tate Imperial College London, UK
Maria Marco-Martin GSK Tres Contos, Spain

Take advantage of this opportunity to showcase your work alongside leaders in the field and submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation today. Through generous sponsorship from the RSC Chemical Biology Interface Division and the BSP there are bursaries available for early career researchers to support their participation at this meeting.

The oral abstract deadline has just been extended until 15 July 2016, and poster abstracts are welcome until 5 August 2016. For more information and to register please visit the conference webpage.

Comments Off on ‘Microbial protein targets: towards understanding and intervention’ meeting

What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

17 May 2016

By Amy Cook.

The articles below are some of the most read MedChemComm articles in January, February and March 2016.

Multivalent glycoconjugates as vaccines and potential drug candidates
Sumati Bhatia, Mathias Dimde and Rainer Haag
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00143E, Review Article

Mechanisms of resistance to membrane-disrupting antibiotics in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria
Kfir B. Steinbuch and Micha Fridman
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00389J, Review Article

Endless resistance. Endless antibiotics?
Jed F. Fisher and Shahriar Mobashery
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00394F, Review Article

Surface plasmon resonance for the characterization of bacterial polysaccharide antigens: a review
Barbara Brogioni and Francesco Berti
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00088A, Review Article

Rational design of protein–protein interaction inhibitors
Didier Rognan
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00328D, Review Article

Mechanisms of resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics: overview and perspectives
Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova and Kristin J. Labby
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00344J, Review Article

Comments Off on What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

Dr Alessio Ciulli wins 2016 Emerging Investigator Lectureship

06 May 2016

By James Anson.

Congratulations to Dr Alessio Ciulli from University of Dundee, UK, the recipient of the 2016 MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

The annual MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship is given to a researcher who has made a significant contribution to medicinal chemistry research in the early part of their career.

The Editorial Board have selected Dr Alessio Ciulli as this year’s recipient for his work tackling important biology with elegant chemistry; developing novel chemical tools to aid our understanding of BET bromodomain proteins and providing pioneering examples of understanding protein-protein interactions as a basis for discovering novel therapeutics.

On being told he had won Dr Ciulli said,

“I feel truly honoured to have been selected to receive the MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship this year, and privileged to join such a distinguished list of former winners. It is a recognition to the excellent work of many students and postdocs in my group who have made key contributions to our discoveries over the past few years. I am excited to be given the opportunity to present some of our latest results at a conference later in the year.”

Alessio will be presenting his lectureship at this year’s EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry in Manchester. Register now.

Comments Off on Dr Alessio Ciulli wins 2016 Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Updated guidelines and standards for MedChemComm

14 Jan 2016

By Richard Kelly.

We’re about to publish our first new issue of 2016 and with it come some changes to the journal which we hope will enhance MedChemComm for our readers, authors and reviewers.

More detailed scope and significance guidelines
We’ve updated our scope and significance guidelines to provide more detail about the type of research we publish, to help authors decide if MedChemComm is the right journal for their article. Also we now ask authors to provide a very brief statement on submission of their article which describes why their research is a significant advance in their field. This information assists our editors and referees in assessing the article’s suitability for publication in the journal.

Introducing ‘Research Articles’
Primary research articles in MedChemComm, which were previously called ‘Concise Articles’, are now ‘Research Articles’. There’s no change in the length or style of articles; ‘Research Articles’ can accommodate any type of primary research article, including communication and full paper styles. The change in name is purely to better reflect this breadth of style. You’ll start seeing the new article name from issue 2 this year.

Article layout
One of the most important aspects of an article from a reader’s point of view is that it’s easy to find and read, with the key information readily available. Therefore we’ve updated guidelines on writing titles and abstracts, which gives advice on how to make these as impactful as possible. This is something we’ll now ask referees to comment on when assessing a manuscript. Also we’ll be limiting the amount of experimental detail included in the main text to two journal pages. Authors should still provide as much experimental information and data as is required for their research; however anything over the two pages should be included in the supplementary information rather than the main text.

Experimental information and data
It’s important that the research published in MedChemComm has the highest levels of integrity and reproducibility; therefore we’ve updated our guidelines on experimental information and data. These give authors information on how much experimental detail should be included, what data are required and the format in which they should be presented.

Feel free to send us any comments or suggestions about these changes or anything else to do with the journal. Thank you to all our authors, reviewers and readers for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy reading MedChemComm in 2016.

Comments Off on Updated guidelines and standards for MedChemComm

2016 MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship – Nominations open

10 Dec 2015

By James Anson.

The launch of the 2016 MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship. Who will you nominate?

We are pleased to announce that nominations for the 2016 MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship are now open and we are looking for your suggestions.

Nominations will close 22nd January 2016.

The recipient will receive a contribution of up to £1000 towards speaking at a conference of their choice.

Qualification
The lectureship is open to candidates who received their PhD on or after December 31st 2005 and who have made a significant contribution to medicinal chemistry in their early career, particularly if they have brought new ideas to drug discovery.

How to nominate
If you would like to nominate someone please email us (medchemcomm-rsc@rsc.org) with the following:

Their name
Their affiliation
At least one paragraph explaining their achievements and why they should be considered

Additional supporting information, for example their CV, would be very much appreciated but is not mandatory for making a nomination.

Self-nominations are accepted but must be supported by a letter of support from your Head of Departments or similar person at your institute.

Selection
The decision to award the lectureship will be made by a panel of MedChemComm Editorial Board members.

Previous Lectureship winners include:

Professor Richard Payne (University of Sydney, Australia)
Professor Patrick Gunning (University of Toronto, Canada)
Professor Christian Heinis (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland).

Comments Off on 2016 MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship – Nominations open

What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

29 Oct 2015

By Amy Cook.

The articles below are the most read MedChemComm articles in July, August and September 2015.

Transition metal diamine complexes with antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)
G. W. Karpin, D. M. Morris, M. T. Ngo, J. S. Merola and J. O. Falkinham III
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00228A, Concise Article

Multivalent glycoconjugates as vaccines and potential drug candidates
Sumati Bhatia, Mathias Dimde and Rainer Haag
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00143E, Review Article

Rational design of protein–protein interaction inhibitors
Didier Rognan
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00328D, Review Article

Magic molecule modifiers
Derek Lowe
DOI: 10.1039/C5MD90028J, In the Pipeline

Optimisation of a triazolopyridine based histone demethylase inhibitor yields a potent and selective KDM2A (FBXL11) inhibitor
Katherine S. England, Anthony Tumber, Tobias Krojer, Giuseppe Scozzafava, Stanley S. Ng, Michelle Daniel, Aleksandra Szykowska, KaHing Che, Frank von Delft, Nicola A. Burgess-Brown, Akane Kawamura, Christopher J. Schofield and Paul E. Brennan
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00291A, Concise Article

Amphiphilic designer nano-carriers for controlled release: from drug delivery to diagnostics
Malinda Salim, Hiroyuki Minamikawa, Akihiko Sugimura and Rauzah Hashim
DOI: 10.1039/C4MD00085D, Review Article

Comments Off on What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

2016 RSC Prizes and Awards in Organic Chemistry & Chemical Biology now open for nomination

23 Oct 2015

By Michaela Mühlberg.

Nominate someone you know who is an exceptional talent in chemical sciences

The 2016 RSC Prizes and Awards are now open for nomination!

Nominations will close on 15 January 2016.

For more than 140 years, our Prizes and Awards programme has been acknowledging and celebrating exceptional talent in the chemical sciences, and with your support we are hoping that 2016 will even more successful!

Last year’s winners include Chemists such as Prof. Wilfred van der Donk (University of Illinois), Prof. Tim Donohoe (University of Oxford), Prof. Shuli You (Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry), Prof. Philip Gale (University of Southampton), Prof. Herman Overkleeft (Leiden University), Prof. Alison Ashcroft and Prof. Sheena Radford (University of Leeds).

This year we have 63 prizes and awards open for nominations of individuals, teams and organisations covering the breadth of the chemical sciences across academia, education and industry.

This year’s prizes in the field of Organic Chemistry & Chemical Biology include:

CBID (Chemistry Biology Interface Division) awards –

Organic Awards –

For 2016 our Longstaff Prize is also open – since 1881 we have awarded this prize once every three years to one of our members who has achieved the most to advance the science of chemistry.

Submit your suggestions now!

Comments Off on 2016 RSC Prizes and Awards in Organic Chemistry & Chemical Biology now open for nomination

RSC Medicinal Chemistry Blog

PNA-encoded libraries can selectively identify covalently bound molecules – HOT article

What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

RSC Organic Division Poster Symposium 2016

‘Microbial protein targets: towards understanding and intervention’ meeting

What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

Dr Alessio Ciulli wins 2016 Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Updated guidelines and standards for MedChemComm

2016 MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship – Nominations open

What are your colleagues reading in MedChemComm?

2016 RSC Prizes and Awards in Organic Chemistry & Chemical Biology now open for nomination

Links

Categories

Archives

Meta