title: Solution-phase combinatorial libraries: modulating cellular signaling by targeting protein-protein or protein-DNA interactions.
abstract: The high-throughput synthesis and screening of compound libraries hold tremendous promise for drug discovery and powerful methods for both solid-phase and solution-phase library preparation have been introduced. The question of which approach (solution-phase versus solid-phase) is best for the preparation of chemical libraries has been replaced by which approach is most appropriate for a particular target or screen. Herein we highlight distinctions in the two approaches that might serve as useful considerations at the onset of new programs. This is followed by a more personal account of our own focus on solution-phase techniques for the preparation of libraries designed to modulate cellular signaling by targeting protein-protein or protein-DNA interactions. The screening of our libraries against a prototypical set of extracellular and intracellular targets, using a wide range of assay formats, provided the first small-molecule modulators of the protein-protein interactions studied, and a generalized approach for conducting such studies.
mesh_terms: D020650:Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques / Q000379:methods; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D019151:Peptide Library; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012996:Solutions
chemical_list: D019151:Peptide Library; D011506:Proteins; D012996:Solutions; D004247:DNA