Current status of virtual screening as analysed by target class.

In silico virtual screening for drug discovery has become a hot topic in medicinal chemistry research during the last 5 years, growing from a largely academic pursuit concerned principally with validating the methods used, to a major early-stage technique for lead discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. In this review we highlight a few recent successes in ligand docking associated with virtual screening, paying particular attention to four major target classes of pharmaceutical interest (G Protein-Coupled receptors, nuclear hormone receptors, kinases, proteases). We also discuss some emerging trends in the field, some common limitations, and how they are being overcome.