PSW-Designer: An Open-Source Computational Platform for the Design and Virtual Screening of Photopharmacological Ligands

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Simon, Icaro Ariel
  • Evert J Homan
  • Maikel Wijtmans
  • Michael Sundström
  • Rob Leurs
  • Iwan J P De Esch
  • Barbara A Zarzycka

Photoswitchable (PSW) molecules offer an attractive opportunity for the optical control of biological processes. However, the successful design of such compounds remains a challenging multioptimization endeavor, resulting in several biological target classes still relatively poorly explored by photoswitchable ligands, as is the case for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Here, we present the PSW-Designer, a fully open-source computational platform, implemented in the KNIME Analytics Platform, to design and virtually screen novel photoswitchable ligands for photopharmacological applications based on privileged scaffolds. We demonstrate the applicability of the PSW-Designer to GPCRs and assess its predictive capabilities via two retrospective case studies. Furthermore, by leveraging bioactivity information on known ligands, typical and atypical strategies for photoswitchable group incorporation, and the increasingly structural information available for biological targets, the PSW-Design will facilitate the design of novel photoswitchable molecules with improved photopharmacological properties and increased binding affinity shifts upon illumination for GPCRs and many other protein targets.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Chemical Information and Modeling
Volume63
Issue number21
Pages (from-to)6696-6705
Number of pages10
ISSN1549-9596
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Retrospective Studies, Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/chemistry, Ligands

ID: 390511197