title: Privileged structures as leads in medicinal chemistry.
abstract: Among the strategies that can lead to the discovery of new drugs, the identification and use of privileged structures, molecular fragments that are able to interact with more than one target, gained particular attention, in an attempt to find new drugs in a shorter time with respect to other strategies. These structures, that have been identified mainly by empirical observations, can target only a given protein family, or can be able to interact with more, unrelated targets. This review deals with structures not covered in recent papers on this topic, and emphasizes the importance of understanding the structure-target relationships, that confer the privileged status.
authors.affiliation: University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Via Campi 183, 41100 Modena, Italy. costantino.luca@unimo.it
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Costantino
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barlocco
mesh_terms: D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods*; D015195:Drug Design; D007211:Indoles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011687:Purines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D011809:Quinones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D001569:Benzodiazepines; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D002241:Carbohydrates; D007211:Indoles; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D011506:Proteins; D011687:Purines; D011809:Quinones; C010574:biphenyl