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Biophysical methods have emerged as attractive screening techniques in drug discovery both as primary hit finding methodologies, as in the case of weakly active compounds such as fragments, and as orthogonal methods for hit validation for compounds discovered through conventional biochemical or cellular assays. Here we describe a dual method employing fluorescent thermal shift assay (FTSA), also known as differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), to interrogate ligands of the kinase p38α as well as several known pan-assay interference compounds (PAINs) such as aggregators, redox cyclers, and fluorescence quenchers. This combinatorial approach allows for independent verification of several biophysical parameters such as K D , k on , k off , Δ G , Δ S , and Δ H , which may further guide chemical development of a ligand series. Affinity values obtained from FTSA curves allow for insight into compound binding compared with reporting shifts in melting temperature. Ligand–p38 interaction data were in good agreement with previous literature. Aggregators and fluorescence quenchers appeared to reduce fluorescence signal in the FTSAs, causing artificially high shifts in T m values, whereas redox compounds caused either shifts in affinity that did not agree between FTSA and SPR or a depression of FTSA signal.

Human carbonic anhydrase (CA) I and II are cytosolic proteins, where their expression disorders can cause diseases such as glaucoma, edema, epilepsy or cancer. There are numerous inhibitors that target these isozymes, but it is difficult to design compounds that could bind to one of these proteins specifically. The binding of sulfonamide inhibitor to a CA is linked to several protonation reactions, namely, deprotonation of the sulfonamide group, protonation of the active site zinc hydroxide and the compensating protonation-deprotonation of buffer. By performing binding experiments at various pHs and buffers, all those contributions were dissected and the "intrinsic" binding parameters were calculated. Intrinsic thermodynamic binding parameters to CA I and II were determined for such widely studied drugs as acetazolamide, ethoxzolamide, methazolamide, trifluoromethanesulfonamide and dichlorophenamide. The assignment of all contributions should enhance our understanding of the underlying energetics and increase our capability to design more potent and specific CA inhibitors.

A series of modified saccharin sulfonamides have been designed as carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitors and synthesized. Their binding to CA isoforms I, II, VII, XII, and XIII was measured by the fluorescent thermal shift assay (FTSA) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Saccharin bound the CAs weakly, exhibiting the affinities of 1–10 mM for four CAs except CA I where binding could not be detected. Several sulfonamide-bearing saccharines exhibited strong affinities of 1–10 nM towards particular CA isoforms. The functional group binding Gibbs free energy additivity maps are presented which may provide insights into the design of compounds with increased affinity towards selected CAs.

Human carbonic anhydrase isozyme XII is a transmembrane protein that is overexpressed in many human cancers. Therefore CA XII is an anticancer drug target. However, there are few compounds that specifically target CA XII. The design of specific inhibitors against CA XII relies on the detailed understanding of the thermodynamics of inhibitor binding and the structural features of the protein-inhibitor complex. To characterize the thermodynamic parameters of the binding of known sulfonamides, namely ethoxzolamide, acetazolamide and trifluoromethanesulfonamide, we used isothermal titration calorimetry and fluorescent thermal shift assay. The binding of these sulfonamides to CA XII was buffer and pH-dependent. Dissection of protonation-deprotonation reactions of both the water molecule bound to the CA XII active site and the sulfonamide group of the inhibitor yielded the intrinsic thermodynamic parameters of binding, such as binding enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy. Thermal shift assay was also used to determine CA XII stabilities at various pH and in the presence of buffers and salts.

Para substituted tetrafluorobenzenesulfonamides bind to carbonic anhydrases (CAs) extremely tightly and exhibit some of the strongest known protein-small ligand interactions, reaching an intrinsic affinity of 2 pM as determined by displacement isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The enthalpy and entropy of binding to five CA isoforms were measured by ITC in two buffers of different protonation enthalpies. The pKa values of compound sulfonamide groups were measured potentiometrically and spectrophotometrically, and enthalpies of protonation were measured by ITC in order to evaluate the proton linkage contributions to the observed binding thermodynamics. Intrinsic means the affinity of a sulfonamide anion for the Zn bound water form of CAs. Fluorination of the benzene ring significantly enhanced the observed affinities as it increased the fraction of deprotonated ligand while having little impact on intrinsic affinities. Intrinsic enthalpy contributions to the binding affinity were dominant over entropy and were more exothermic for CA I than for other CA isoforms. Thermodynamic measurements together with the X-ray crystallographic structures of protein-ligand complexes enabled analysis of structure-activity relationships in this enzyme ligand system.

A series of N-aryl-β-alanine derivatives and diazobenzenesulfonamides containingaliphatic rings were designed, synthesized, and their binding to carbonic anhydrases (CA) I,II, VI, VII, XII, and XIII was studied by the fluorescent thermal shift assay and isothermaltitration calorimetry. The results showed that 4-substituted diazobenzenesulfonamides weremore potent CA binders than N-aryl-β-alanine derivatives. Most of the N-aryl-β-alaninederivatives showed better affinity for CA II while diazobenzenesulfonamides possessednanomolar affinities towards CA I isozyme. X-ray crystallographic structures showed themodes of binding of both compound groups.

The search for potent and selective sirtuin inhibitors continues as chemical tools of this type are of use in helping to assign the function of this interesting class of deacetylases. Here we describe SAR studies starting from the unselective sirtuin inhibitor tenovin-6. These studies identify a sub-micromolar inhibitor that has increased selectivity for SIRT2 over SIRT1 compared to tenovin-6. In addition, a H-1-NMR-based method is developed and used to validate further this class of sirtuin inhibitors. A thermal shift analysis of SIRT2 in the presence of tenovin-6, -43, a control tenovin and the known SIRT2 inhibitor AGK2 is also presented. Publisher PDF

For the design of selective inhibitors towards 12 active human carbonic anhydrase (CA) isoforms, a map correlating thermodynamics of inhibitor binding with cocrystal structures was created. A series of over 600 inhibitors were chemically synthesized. Their binding to CA isoforms was measured by three biophysical and biochemical techniques, namely, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), fluorescent thermal shift assay (FTSA), and enzymatic inhibition methods. A database of over 3000 binding reactions, including the intrinsic Gibbs free energies and sometimes the enthalpies, entropies and heat capacities, was assembled. Intrinsic energetics of binding was determined by accounting for the linked protonation-deprotonation reactions of both protein and ligand. Together with over 80 cocrystal structures, this database provided insight into some general issues of protein-ligand interactions, especially the enthalpy - entropy compensation and isoform-selective ligand design. Parts of some ligands contained flexible tailgroups that correlated with increased intrinsic entropy of binding. All designed ligands exhibited enthalpy-driven binding with minor but important entropic contributions. The method is useful for the design of ligands with appropriate affinities and selectivities.