Introduction

An efficient «drug design» is based on the crucial propedeutic research activity of the «right species-specific» protein target and of the «unique» (high specificity/affinity) binding region to be targeted with new antimicrobial agents or with new anticancer small molecules or with new anti-degenration agents. The method proposed within this patent provides new tools for making «drug-design» more «efficient» and «safe».

Technical features

The proposed patent is in the context of biomedical and pharmacological research. The provided tools will allow to highlight «species-specific» proteins, crucial for microbial viability, and «unique» protein binding regions within those proteins. If the protein species-specificity cannot be granted, microbial proteins crucial for microorganism viability, but also present i.e. in humans or mammalia (i.e. FAD/NADH dehydrogenases), can be equally studied, thanks to the provided tools, for identifying unique «binding regions» within the microbial proteins, without counterpart in the human homolog, to be targeted with new ad-hoc-specific-drugs. The provided tools will also allow to study binding regions within human proteins (with specific reference, but not limited to, FAD/NADH dehydrogenases) for drawing new pro/anti-apoptotic/antdegenerative drugs for the treatment of different cancer diseases or for the treatment of degenerative diseases, characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction.

Possible Applications

• Design of new antibiotic /antifungal/antimicrobial agents;
• Design of new small molecules with anti-apoptotic/anti-degenerative properties for slowing-down tissue degeneration in space-travels or for the treatment of degenerative diseases with mitochondrial dysfunction;
• Develompment of new small molecules with anti/pro-apoptotic activity for the treatment of cancer diseases with mitochondrial dysfunction.

Advantages

• Highlight species-specific proteins, putative targets of new drugs, within microorganisms in a safer way;
• Highlight in “species-specific” proteins “unique” protein binding regions to be targeted with new specific drugs;
• Highlight protein binding regions in human proteins with high structural similarity, although showing a different amino acid composition, to microbial protein binding regions.