Neutron crystallography aids in drug design

Since drugs bind to their targets through directional H bonding and non-directional hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, neutron crystallography can help guide structure-based drug design. This is illustrated by McKenna and co-workers [Aggarwal et al. (2016), IUCrJ, 3, 319–325] who describe the room-temperature neutron structure of human carbonic anyhydrase II in complex with the clinical inhibitor methazolamide to 2.2 Å resolution, and compare this with the previously determined room-temperature neutron structure of human carbonic anyhydrase II in complex with the clinical inhibitor acetazolamide to 2.0 Å resolution [Fisher et al. (2012). J. Am. Chem. Soc.134, 14726–14729].