Biophysical analysis of the protein-small molecule interactions to develop small molecule drug discovery

In small molecule drug discovery, researchers must find specific binders that interact with a target protein and inhibit its function in connection with human diseases. It is of critical importance to know the binding mode of compounds interacting with a target protein to assure hit validation and optimization. Biophysical analysis is a powerful quantitative approach to evaluate the binding modes of such candidates. Since the level of sensitivity of biophysical analysis is suitable to quantitatively detect the binding of fragment compounds, and because of the remarkable success of compound libraries of small molecules, the development and adaptation of biophysical analysis for these applications is in great demand. Herein, we describe the technical developments of biophysical methods, especially thermodynamic and kinetic analysis, for the purpose of screenings which employ small molecules. In addition, we discuss the interaction mechanisms of small molecules to find hit compounds based on these biophysical analyses.