Focus on Chemical Probes

Retooling chemical probes - p157

doi:10.1038/nchembio.330

Increased transparency and consistency in reporting well-validated chemical probes will further enhance the impact of this exciting and rapidly advancing area of chemical biology.

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Focus on Chemical Probes

The art of the chemical probe - pp159 - 161

Stephen V Frye

doi:10.1038/nchembio.296

Chemical biologists frequently aim to create small-molecule probes that interact with a specific protein in vitro in order to explore the role of the protein in a broader biological context (cells or organisms), but a common understanding of what makes a high-quality probe is lacking. Here I propose a set of principles to guide probe qualification.

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Focus on Chemical Probes

Rethinking screening - pp162 - 165

Thomas Kodadek

doi:10.1038/nchembio.303

Bioactive compounds are most frequently identified via high-throughput screening campaigns. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the most popular screening approaches and the utility of compounds derived from them.

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Focus on Chemical Probes

The (un)targeted cancer kinome - pp166 - 169

Oleg Fedorov, Susanne Müller & Stefan Knapp

doi:10.1038/nchembio.297

The complexity of cancer signaling and the resulting difficulties in target selection have strongly biased kinase drug discovery towards clinically validated targets. Recently, novel kinase targets that are uncharacterized have emerged from genome sequencing and RNAi studies. Chemical probes are urgently needed to functionally annotate these kinases and to stimulate new drug discovery efforts.

Full Text - The (un)targeted cancer kinome | PDF (503 KB) - The (un)targeted cancer kinome

Focus on Chemical Probes

Turning enzymes ON with small molecules - pp179 - 188

Julie A Zorn & James A Wells

doi:10.1038/nchembio.318

Abstract - Turning enzymes ON with small molecules | Full Text - Turning enzymes ON with small molecules | PDF (778 KB) - Turning enzymes ON with small molecules

Focus on Chemical Probes

Garbled messages and corrupted translations - pp189 - 198

Tilman Schneider-Poetsch, Takeo Usui, Daisuke Kaida & Minoru Yoshida

doi:10.1038/nchembio.326

Abstract - Garbled messages and corrupted translations | Full Text - Garbled messages and corrupted translations | PDF (2,207 KB) - Garbled messages and corrupted translations