PHARMACOPHORE PERCEPTION , DEVELOPMENT , AND USE IN DRUG DESIGN

Preface: Perceiving a pharmacophore is the most important first step towards understanding the interaction between a receptor and a ligand. In the early 1900s, Paul Ehrlich offered the first definition for a pharmacophore: "a molecular framework that carries (phoros) the essential features responsible for a drug’s (pharmacon) biological activity" (Ehrlich P: Dtsch Chem Ges 1909, 42:17). That definition of a pharmacophore remained unperturbed for over 90 years. The current widely used definition was presented by Peter Gund in 1977: “a set of structural features in a molecule that is recognized at a receptor site and is responsible for that molecule's biological activity” (Gund P: Prog Mol Subcell Biol 1977, 5:117-143). This modern definition is remarkably loyal to the earliest definitions.