Design of a gene family screening library targeting G-protein coupled receptors

Abstract An iterative process for the design of a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) gene family screening library has been developed. A key element of this process is the computational generation of pharmacophore descriptors of known GPCR ligands. Subsequent iterative analysis allows prioritization of scaffolds and sub-libraries for inclusion in the library. The final library, which consisted of 13,769 compounds, displayed a 2.6% hit rate when screened against the μ-opioid receptor.