Breakthrough new methods greatly accelerate drug development!

March 27, 2018 / BIOON / - one of the key steps in the development of new drugs is to determine the atomic structure of bioactive components of drugs This usually involves X-ray analysis of the single crystal structure of the drug to determine the three-dimensional structure of the component However, the growth of suitable single crystals is complex and time-consuming Photo source: a team led by Bernhard spingler, a professor of chemistry at the University of Zurich, has now improved a method previously used to analyze protein single crystals and successfully applied it to organic salts They can determine the crystal structure of organic salt more quickly and conveniently "Considering that organic salts account for 40% of active pharmaceutical ingredients, this new method can greatly accelerate drug development." Professor spingler said Simplifying organic salt screening to produce organic salt is a key step in the development of drug components The particles with positive and negative charges that make up organic salts determine the properties of drugs, such as solubility, crystal form, water absorption capacity, melting point and stability It is a troublesome process to explore the pairing of an ideal anion with a positive cation This process is not only faster, but also cheaper because the new method uses semi-automatic ion exchange combination screening and vapor diffusion crystallization "We can directly determine the structure of salt after screening, but only a small amount of substance is needed in this way." Professor spingler, a crystallographer, said The new breakthrough method for interns was completed by the intern Philipp nievergelt, who trained in Professor spinler's Laboratory for 10 months after graduation The junior researcher, who is the first author of this paper, is now studying in the fourth semester of business chemistry at the University of Zurich "This internship made me interested in the laboratory work and encouraged me to further research." Nievergelt said Reference: new method accelerates development of drugs