DNA nanoswitches find new drug leads faster by measuring protein interactions

AI Summary

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated institutions have developed FIND, a drug discovery platform that uses DNA nanoswitches to screen molecules for their effects on interactions between proteins. By identifying compounds that modulate protein-protein interactions, the approach may uncover drug leads that conventional single-protein binding screens miss.

Researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, Boston Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School (HMS) have developed FIND, a drug discovery platform that searches large libraries for molecules that modulate binding interactions between two proteins. FIND uses DNA nanoswitches to select drug candidates based on their effects on these protein-protein interactions, rather than simply whether they bind to a single target protein, giving it a key advantage over conventional binding-based screening.