# Drug Design and Synthesis Core

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · 2022 · $168,971

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The Drug Design and Synthesis Core (DDSC), a key component of the COBRE Center for Targeted
Therapeutics (CTT), will enable current and future COBRE faculty to access expertise in assessing the
feasibility of developing a chemical biology probe and/or drug candidate for a particular target, provide access
to equipment and expertise in synthetic medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry and lastly in the
development and validation of binding and functional assays. These services will allow biologists, biochemists
and pharmacologists access to key functional molecules that they require for drug target validation, studies
using a chemical biology probe and furthermore in preclinical drug development studies. Towards this goal, the
Core will pursue the following specific aims: Aim 1. Drug Target Feasibility Assessment: The DDSC will
provide a detailed evaluation of targets in terms of druggability, i.e. the feasibility of chemically modulating
functional activity of the target of interest or downstream activity through protein-protein interactions. Aim 2.
Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry for Hit Expansion and Lead Optimization: The DDSC will provide synthetic
chemistry support for the projects described in this COBRE application by sourcing known and commercially
available ligands (for use as chemical biology probes), by designing synthesis routes for potential target
molecules identified through in vitro or in silico screening (Aim 3) and by designing chemical libraries of initial
hits for hit expansion (structure-activity relationships) and lead optimization purposes. Aim 3. Structure
and/or Ligand Based Drug Design for hit identification, hit expansion and lead optimization: The
computational chemistry facility within the DDSC will provide support for 1) in silico screens to identify chemical
starting points (hits) for desired biological targets. 2) Structure-guided lead optimization through computational
analysis of identified hits (and structurally related inactives) facilitating rational design of specific analogues
and chemical libraries to improve target affinity, selectivity and to impart drug-like physicochemical properties.
Aim 4. In vitro binding and functional assay development: The DDSC will provide expertise and resources
for development of binding and functional assays that will serve in the hit identification and lead optimization
stages. The developed assays will be used for different types of screenings, including high-throughput
screening (HTS) at the collaborating HTS facility. Through knowledge of a target’s ligandable sites including
sites of protein-protein interactions, in vitro binding assays will be developed that can be used for determining
the affinity of compounds discovered using computational screening and also for miniaturization in high-
throughput testing. Assay development will also be supported by the DDSC through the synthesis of the
required probes and tracer molecules such as biotin or fluorescein link...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10403531
- **Project number:** 5P20GM109091-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Campbell McInnes
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $168,971
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-07-10 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10403531

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10403531, Drug Design and Synthesis Core (5P20GM109091-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10403531. Licensed CC0.

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