Drug Discovery

Drug discovery is a long, complex, and expensive process. Information related to the three-dimensional structure of macromolecular drug targets and their ligands plays a central role from drug target identification up to lead optimisation. 

The use of synchrotrons is now routine in the drug discovery industry and Diamond offers world-leading facilities that combine cutting-edge technical instrumentation, essential for de novo structure solution and the study of protein-ligand interactions, with the latest developments in automation required to accelerate lead identification and ligand screening processes. 

While X-ray crystallography remains a key tool to characterise macromolecules, small molecules, complexes, and ligand binding, the use of complementary techniques such as electron microscopy, circular dichroism, and small angle X-ray scattering is increasingly leading to a more complete understanding of the process in question. Electron microscopy has recently emerged as an alternative method to crystallography, providing structural information of macromolecules at similar resolution. Circular dichroism and small angle X-ray scattering are both excellent techniques to investigate the size, stability and conformation of macromolecules (and complexes) in solution.