Solvent-exposed regions, or solvent-filled pockets, within or adjacent to the ligand-binding sites of drug-target proteins provide opportunities for substantial modifications of existing small-molecular drug molecules without serious loss of activity. In this review, we present recent selected examples of exploitation of solvent-exposed regions of proteins in drug design and development from the recent medicinal-chemistry literature.
Keywords: drug design; medicinal chemistry; protein/solvent interface; solvent-accessible region; solvent-exposed region; solvent-filled pocket.
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