Advances in, and dissemination of, computer technologies in the field of drug research now enable the use of molecular modeling tools to teach important concepts of drug design to chemistry and pharmacy students. A series of computer laboratories is described to introduce undergraduate students to commonly adopted in silico drug design methods, such as molecular geometry optimization, pharmacophore modeling, protein−ligand docking simulations, homology modeling, virtual screening, and pharmacokinetics/toxicity predictions. Freely available software and web servers are selected to compose this pedagogical resource, such that it can be easily implemented in any institution equipped with an Internet connection and Windows OS computers. This material is an illustration of a drug discovery pipeline, starting from the structure of known drugs to obtain novel bioactive compounds, and, therefore, is a valid pedagogical instrument for educating future professionals in the field of drug development.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. Currently, the only strategy for palliative treatment of AD is to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in order to increase the concentration of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft. Evidence indicates that AChE also interacts with the β-amyloid (Aβ) protein, acting as a chaperone and increasing the number and neurotoxicity of Aβ fibrils. It is known that AChE has two binding sites: the peripheral site, responsible for the interactions with Aβ, and the catalytic site, related with acetylcholine hydrolysis. In this work, we reported the synthesis and biological evaluation of a library of new tacrine-donepezil hybrids, as a potential dual binding site AChE inhibitor, containing a triazole-quinoline system. The synthesis of hybrids was performed in four steps using the click chemistry strategy. These compounds were evaluated as hAChE and hBChE inhibitors, and some derivatives showed IC 50 values in the micro-molar range and were remarkably selective towards hAChE. Kinetic assays and molecular modeling studies confirm that these compounds block both catalytic and peripheral AChE sites. These results are quite interesting since the triazole-quinoline system is a new structural scaffold for AChE inhibitors. Furthermore, the synthetic approach is very efficient for the preparation of target compounds, allowing a further fruitful new chemical library optimization.

Abstract:The development of virtual screening techniques represents a major advance in the current drug design era. Through several strategies, virtual screening is able to facilitate the selection of molecules with the desired chemical features to modulate the biological activity of the most attractive molecular targets currently available. From the simplest techniques, as the similarity search or molecular docking, to more complex strategies, including statistical methods and machine learning, the main goal of virtual screening is to improve the searching for molecules with the desired features required for becoming drug candidates, thus accelerating the continuous process of drug design. The aim of this review is to discuss the main virtual screening strategies and how they relate to the drug design process.Keywords: Virtual screening; drug design; molecular modeling. ResumoO desenvolvimento de técnicas de triagem virtual representa um dos maiores avanços na atual era de planejamento de fármacos. A triagem virtual, através de inúmeras estratégias distintas, é capaz de direcionar a seleção de moléculas com as características químicas desejadas para modular a atividade biológica dos mais diversos e atrativos alvos moleculares conhecidos na atualidade. Desde as técnicas mais simples, como a bus a po si ila idade ou do age molecular, até as estratégias mais complexas, que envolvem métodos estatísticos e de aprendizagem de máquinas, o objetivo principal da triagem virtual é aprimorar o processo de busca de novos candidatos a fármacos e acelerar o processo contínuo do seu planejamento. O objetivo desta revisão é discutir as principais técnicas de triagem virtual e como elas se relacionam com o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos.Palavras-chave: Triagem virtual; planejamento de fármacos; modelagem molecular.

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Neglected Diseases (NDs) affect million of people, especially the poorest population around the world. Several efforts to an effective treatment have proved insufficient at the moment. In this context, triazole derivatives have shown great relevance in medicinal chemistry due to a wide range of biological activities. This review aims to describe some of the most relevant and recent research focused on 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-triazole-based molecules targeting four expressive NDs: Chagas disease, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Leishmaniasis.

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