Recent Advances in Docking and Scoring

Abstract

This review is focused on recent advances and new aspects in the field of molecular docking and scoring, and it covers multiple applications and case studies. Basic requirements and different algorithms for docking are briefly discussed. Moreover, parameters that influence docking results, combination of different docking algorithms and scoring functions, performance of scoring functions, docking using homology models, and ligand and protein flexibility are examined to give an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and a survey of innovative approaches in molecular docking and scoring. Regarding the enormous amount of literature in this field we restrict ourselves on an overview of several important advances in docking and scoring techniques published within the last two years, i.e. we considered publications ranging from 2002 to 2004. Keywords: molecular docking, scoring functions, virtual screening, docking algorithm, homology modelling, high-throughput screening, tautomerism