Structure-based drug design is not only a fundamental tool in the search of new drugs but also an area of intensive scientific research. The present contribution starts with a critical analysis of the potentiality of the structure based design and then reviews its methods. Protein crystallography, NMR, homology modelling and the use of antibodies are either referenced or briefly described as the methods which are able to provide us with the atomic structure of receptors. The search of lead molecules by data base mining and by generating structures with computers is discussed. Various methods and computer programs for calculating the interaction energy between receptors and ligands are reviewed. Several examples of successful structure base design are cited and some of them are briefly discussed.
