Abstract: The present invention provides for the first time a quantum mechanics-based method for scoring protein-ligand interactions and binding affinity predictions, using quantum mechanical Hamiltonians and/or a combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach, and Poisson-Boltzmann (PB)-based solvation methods. Also provided is a method for using quantum mechanics to describe the enthalpic and solvation effects of binding. The method comprises comparing the calculated binding affinities to experimental values in order to measure the success of the method. The methods disclosed herein may further be used to score protein and drug or protein and inhibitor interactions. The present method can predict the free energy of binding of protein-ligand complexes with high accuracy so as to enable lead optimization, thus serving as a powerful tool in computational drug design.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for analysis of molecular combinations featuring two or more molecular subsets is described. The method computes the shape complementarity of the system utilizing a basis expansion representing molecular shapes of the first and second molecular subsets in a coordinate system. The precomputed sets of translated expansion coefficients for the first molecular subset are first constructed via application of a translation operator to a reference set of expansion coefficients and then stored on a computer recordable medium for later retrieval. Then, a shape complementarity score, representing a correlation of the first and second molecular subsets, is computed via suitable application of rotation operators to both the stored translated expansion coefficients of the first molecular subset and the reference expansion coefficients for the second molecular subset over the sequence of different sampled configurations for the molecular combination.

Abstract: This invention provides methods for determining drug specificity, therapeutic index and effective doses for individual patients. According to the methods of the invention, graded levels of drug are applied to a biological sample or a patient. A plurality of cellular constituents are measured to determine the activity of the drug on a target pathway and at least one off-target pathway. A drug specificity is determined by comparing the target and off target activities of the drug. A therapeutic concentration (or dose) is defined as a concentration (or dose) of the drug that induces certain response in the target pathway. A toxic concentration (or dose) is defined as a concentration (or dose) of the drug that induces certain response in the off target pathway. Therapeutic index is the ratio of the toxic concentration over therapeutic concentration. Methods are also provided to determine an effective dose of a drug for a patient by measuring the activity of the drug on the particular patient.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a group of novel viral RNA regulatory genes, here identified as “viral genomic address messenger genes” or “VGAM genes”, and as “genomic record” or “GR” genes. VGAM genes selectively inhibit translation of known host target genes, and are believed to represent a novel pervasive viral attack mechanism. GR genes encode an operon-like cluster of VGAM genes. VGAM and viral GR genes may therefore be useful in diagnosing, preventing and treating viral disease. Several nucleic acid molecules are provided respectively encoding several VGAM genes, as are vectors and probes, both comprising the nucleic acid molecules, and methods and systems for detecting VGAM genes, and for counteracting their activity.

Abstract: Compositions and methods for electrochemical detection and localization of genetic point mutations, common DNA lesions and other base-stacking perturbations within oligonucleotide duplexes adsorbed onto electrodes and their use in biosensing technologies are described. An intercalative, redox-active moiety (such as an intercalator or nucleic acid-binding protein) is adhered and/or crosslinked to immobilized DNA duplexes at different separations from an electrode and probed electrochemically in the presence or absence of a non-intercalative, redox-active moiety. Interruptions in DNA-mediated electron-transfer caused by base-stacking perturbations, such as mutations or binding of a protein to its recognition site are reflected in a difference in electrical current, charge and/or potential.

Abstract: A system and a method for screening of nucleation tendency of a molecule, such as a macromolecule, based on acoustic, electrostatic or hybrid acoustic/electrostatic levitation of a droplet for optimizing crystallization conditions for said molecule. This allows for a controlled approach to determination of supersaturation and allows for screening of crystal nucleation conditions within minutes and hours instead of months and years with a minute amount of starting material compared to conventional crystallization methods.

Abstract: A measurement method is provided, which enables to obtain a two-dimensional image with better quantitative-ability by suppressing the influence of the charge-up, when the two-dimensional secondary ion image is obtained for a biological material fixed on a substrate having a high resistivity by utilizing a TOF-SIMS method in a certain wide area. A two-dimensional image having considerably high positioning resolution-ability can be obtained by the procedure in which the pulsed primary ion beam is irradiated at a spot, and the pulse-wise spot-applications of the primary ion beam and the simultaneous detection of the secondary ion generated from the irradiated primary ion beam proceed along with a discontinuous scanning pattern, and eventually the results of these secondary ion measurements are reconstructed into a two-dimensional image in line with the aforementioned discontinuous scanning pattern.

Abstract: A self-addressable, self-assembling microelectronic device is designed and fabricated to actively carry out and control multi-step and multiplex molecular biological reactions in microscopic formats. These reactions include nucleic acid hybridizations, antibody/antigen reactions, diagnostics, and biopolymer synthesis. The device can be fabricated using both microlithographic and micro-machining techniques. The device can electronically control the transport and attachment of specific binding entities to specific micro-locations. The specific binding entities include molecular biological molecules such as nucleic acids and polypeptides. The device can subsequently control the transport and reaction of analytes or reactants at the addressed specific micro-locations. The device is able to concentrate analytes and reactants, remove non-specifically bound molecules, provide stringency control for DNA hybridization reactions, and improve the detection of analytes. The device can be electronically replicated.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method of estimating the polar component of the solvation energy for a molecule embedded in different media. In one embodiment, the molecule is partially embedded in a membrane. For an atom of the molecule, the polar component of the atom's solvation energy is represented as a combination of at least a self-energy term and a screening-effect term. The self-energy term represents the contribution to the atom's polar component made by the membrane and the molecule's other atoms located inside the membrane. The screening-effect term represents the typically negative contribution to the atom's polar component made by the molecule's other atoms located outside the membrane. An analytical function is used to calculate the self-energy term.

Abstract: Structure factor bias in an electron density map for an unknown crystallographic structure is minimized by using information in a first electron density map to elicit expected structure factor information. Observed structure factor amplitudes are combined with a starting set of crystallographic phases to form a first set of structure factors. A first electron density map is then derived and features of the first electron density map are identified to obtain expected distributions of electron density. Crystallographic phase probability distributions are established for possible crystallographic phases of reflection k, and the process is repeated as k is indexed through all of the plurality of reflections. An updated electron density map is derived from the crystallographic phase probability distributions for each one of the reflections. The entire process is then iterated to obtain a final set of crystallographic phases with minimum bias from known electron density maps.

Abstract: The invention provides high resolution X-ray crystal structures of the 30S ribosome, obtained from Thermus thermophilus 30S subunit, having a tetragonal space group P41212 to which are bound an antibiotic selected from the group paromomycin, streptomycin, spectinomycin, tetracycline, pactamycin and hygromycin B. An advantageous feature of the structure is that it diffracts at about 3 ? resolution. The invention also provides a crystal of 30S having the three dimensional atomic coordinates of the 30S ribosome, the coordinates being provided in any one of tables 1 to 4. The data may be used for the rational design and modelling of inhibitors for the 30S ribosome, which have potential use as antibiotics.