Fragment-based drug design is an effective approach to identifying potential binders for a given target protein, but accurately capturing changes in affinity associated with a given set of chemical modifications remains challenging. Here, the authors evaluate the use of absolute binding free energy calculations in guiding fragment optimisation decisions, finding that such calculations can usefully guide fragment elaborations to maximise affinity.
- Irfan Alibay
- Aniket Magarkar
- Philip Charles Biggin
