Natural Products Unit, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Switzerland.
Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2011 Aug;15(4):497-504. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2011.05.018.
Natural products are evolutionarily designed and chemically distinct from most synthetic library molecules. In addition to their role as drugs, they are successfully used as molecular probes to identify disease relevant targets. Novel natural products are still routinely discovered from traditional sources through cultivation of microorganisms. Complementary approaches based on genome sequence information and subsequent annotation of biosynthetic pathways are emerging technologies. However, to be of practical use for drug discovery, these concepts must be advanced beyond their current state.
天然产物在进化上经过设计，与大多数合成文库分子在化学上有所不同。除了作为药物的作用外，它们还被成功地用作分子探针来识别与疾病相关的靶标。通过培养微生物，仍然可以从传统来源中定期发现新型天然产物。基于基因组序列信息和随后对生物合成途径进行注释的互补方法是新兴技术。然而，要将这些概念实际应用于药物发现，就必须超越当前的状态。
