New Approaches in Structural and Biophysical Chemistry to Illuminate Molecular Interactions

Dear Colleagues,

A fundamental understanding of molecular mechanisms in chemistry and biology requires the study of the interactions between essential entities, such as small organic molecules, proteins, DNA/RNA and lipids. Biomolecular interactions can form a myriad of complexes that can adopt unique architectures, composed of single-to-multi-component molecules, that vary in stability and size, ranging from small chemical moieties of tens of Daltons to supramolecular structures larger than a mega-Dalton.

Regardless of the intricacies that these interactions adopt, they all rely on molecular forces that can be non-covalent in nature, highlighting the importance of understanding the role hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic effects or van der Waals and electrostatic interactions play in biomolecular structure/function. The timescales in which biomolecular interactions occur span picoseconds to real-time, hours to days, and occur through many different kinetic mechanisms. Importantly, the lifetime of these interactions can tune functional behaviour, which has consequences for how a biological response is generated. Deciphering molecular interactions is key in understanding how macroscopic cellular responses form. These are mediated between proteins, proteins and lipids, protein and ligands, and protein and DNA/RNA, as well as chemical reactions and complex supramolecular systems. The detection, identification and analysis of molecular interactions are crucial in a wide range of disciplines, including supramolecular chemistry, structural biology, pharmacology and analytical chemistry. In this context, the development of novel approaches to improve our knowledge of molecular interactions is imperative.

In this Special Issue of Molecules, we will focus on recent developments and applications of novel approaches in structural and biophysical chemistry that aim to study molecular interactions. The development and application of new (bio)chemical probes will be covered, as will new biophysical techniques for uncovering binding-site information and the kinetics of interactions at resolutions that cover the atomic to optical range. Methodological improvements with a focus on improving the sensitivity, specificity or selectivity with which interactions can be monitored are of interest. Additionally, advances in single-molecule detection and the application of computational techniques to improve the study of molecular interactions are welcomed.

Contributions to this Special Issue will be in the form of original research or review articles on novel approaches and their application in chemistry and biology to elucidate molecular interactions.

Dr. Antoine Loquet
Dr. Isabel D. Alves
Guest Editors

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