In Silico Models for Drug Discovery

By: Sandhya Kortagere

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Synopsis: Infectious diseases caused by viruses, parasites, bacteria, and fungi are the number one cause of death worldwide. Although new technologies have improved diagnosis of infectious diseases, the efficacy of all known current anti-infective agents is threatened by the spread of drug-resistant forms of the pathogens. Hence, there remains an urgent need to develop anti-infective agents that target drug-resistant pathogens. In Silico Models for Drug Discovery presents a comprehensive look at the role in silico models play in understanding infectious diseases and in developing novel therapeutics to treat them. Written by leading experts in the field, chapters cover topics such as techniques to derive novel antimicrobial targets, methods of interpreting polypharmacology-based drug target networks, and molecular dynamics techniques used to compute binding energies of drugs to their target proteins, to name a few. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series or in review article format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, In Silico Models for Drug Discovery seeks to serve both professionals and novices involved in the study and treatment of infectious diseases.