Probing the Molecular Details of Drug-Target Protein Interactions Using Microcalorimetry

This white paper presents examples of disciplines in small molecule drug discovery where new instrumentation has improved the efficiency of the discovery processes. Understanding the molecular details of drug-target protein interactions is a critical component of the drug discovery process in the modern pharmaceutical industry. A comprehensive set of highly integrated biochemical and biophysical methods is used to better characterize the target protein and its interactions with inhibitors. These techniques enable the identification of chemical instabilities (oxidation, deamination etc.), proteolytic or chemical degradation, post-translational modification, and physical instability such as surface denaturation, soluble aggregation, and precipitation.