In silico screening strategies for novel inhibitors of parasitic diseases.
BACKGROUND
Parasitic diseases are a major global problem causing long-term disability and death, with severe medical and psychological consequences around the world. Despite the prevalence of parasitic disease, the treatment options for many of these illnesses are still inadequate and there is a dire need for new antiparasitic drugs. In silico screening techniques, which are powerful strategies for hit generation, are widely being applied in the design of new ligands for parasitic diseases.


METHODS
This article analyses the application of ligand- and structure-based virtual screening strategies against a variety of parasitic diseases and discusses the benefits of the integration between computational and experimental approaches toward the discovery of new antiparasitic agents. The analysis is illustrated by recent examples, with emphasis on the strategies reported within the past 2 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Virtual screening techniques are powerful tools commonly used in drug discovery against parasitic diseases, which have provided new opportunities for the identification of several novel compound classes with antiparasitic activity.
Laboratório de Química Medicinal e Computacional, Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo ,  Av. Trabalhador São-Carlense 400, 13560-970 São Carlos-SP ,  Brazil   +55 16 3373 9844 ;  +55 16 3373 9881 ;  oliva@ifsc.usp.br.
Rafaela S
RS
Ferreira
Rafael Vc
RV
Guido
Adriano D
AD
Andricopulo
Glaucius
G
Oliva