Screening for potential interaction partners with surface plasmon resonance imaging coupled to MALDI mass spectrometry

Coupling of surface plasmon resonance and mass spectrometry for molecular interaction studies in drug discovery

Various analytical technologies have been developed for the study of target-ligand interactions. The combination of these technologies gives pivotal information on the binding mechanism, kinetics, affinity, residence time, and changes in molecular structures. Mass spectrometry (MS) offers structural information, enabling the identification and quantification of target-ligand interactions. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) provides kinetic information on target-ligand interaction in real time. The coupling of MS and SPR complements each other in the studies of target-ligand interactions. Over the last two decades, the capabilities and added values of SPR-MS have been reported. This review summarizes and highlights the benefits, applications, and potential for further research of the SPR-MS approach.

State of the art in protein-protein interactions within the fungi kingdom

Proteins rarely exert their function by themselves. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) regulate virtually every biological process that takes place in a cell. Such interactions are targets for new therapeutic agents against all sorts of diseases, through the screening and design of a variety of inhibitors. Here we discuss several aspects of PPIs that contribute to prediction of protein function and drug discovery. As the high-throughput techniques continue to release biological data, targets for fungal therapeutics that rely on PPIs are being proposed worldwide. Computational approaches have reduced the time taken to develop new therapeutic approaches. The near future brings the possibility of developing new PPI and interaction network inhibitors and a revolution in the way we treat fungal diseases.