Screening of druggable conformers of α-synuclein using molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are becoming an engaging prospect for therapeutic intervention by small drug-like molecules. IDPs structural binding pockets and their flexibility exist as a challenging target for standard druggable approaches. Hence, in this study, we have performed and identified the most probable druggable conformers from molecular dynamics simulation on α-synuclein based on the structural parameters: radius of gyration (Rg), solvent accessible surface area (SASA) and the standard secondary structure content. We found the conformers showing lower solvent accessible surface area and higher secondary structure content of α-helical are defined to be suitable binding pockets for druggability.