Application of ITC-Based Characterization of Thermodynamic and Kinetic Association of Ligands With Proteins in Drug Design

A comprehensively characterization of the thermodynamic and kinetic profiling of ligands binding to a given target protein is crucial for the hit selection as well as the hit-to-lead-to-drug optimization. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), widely known as an invaluable tool to measure the thermodynamic data, has recently found its way to determine the binding kinetics too. The extensive application of ITC in measurement of both thermodynamic and kinetic data makes it a useful tool in drug discovery and design. This mini-review concentrates on elaborating how to gain the thermodynamic and kinetic data using ITC, highlighting the importance of these data in lead discovery and optimization, and intends to provide an overview of the technical and conceptual advances that offer unprecedented access to protein-ligand recognition by ITC measurement.