Structural analog

Analogs are chemical compounds have either structural or functional similarity. Accordingly, a distinction structural analogs and functional analogs.

Structural analogs may cause due to their structural similarity or similar charge distribution similar biological effect, since they are bound by the same receptors and thus induce similar metabolic reactions or signaling cascades. They rarely identical, mostly similar, but often very different properties than the original molecule. Especially with regard to biological systems, such properties only on the living object (in vivo) let's find out by complicated scientific studies. Often serious side effects show only after longer periods in studies with many study participants.

In opposite to the analogues are bioidentical substances whose molecules are identical with the naturally occurring. These are now made ​​with modern chemical methods ( semi-) synthetic. This makes for the action in the body is no difference, as they are chemically exactly the same behavior as the substances produced in the body.

Examples

Often analogues are biologically active derivatives of a basic substance such as in the synthetic steroids, all derived from Steran:

Application

Analogs play in combinatorial chemistry for pharmaceutical purposes a large role because natural substances can not be patented and are only chemically " re- invented " substances on a large scale marketable and for large corporations of interest. In drug development, either a large number of structural analogs are created at a given lead compound and tested in a study of the relationship between structure and activity or one searches a database for structural analogues for given lead structure.

Examples

• GABA analogs: gabapentin, tiagabine and vigabatrin
• Pyrophosphate A:. Bisphosphonates