Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Library (chemical library):
A collection of
molecules
, usually of similar
structure
, used to test effects of
structural
variations on (for example) biological activity of
drug
candidates.
A
pharmaceutical
company looking for a
drug
structurally
similar to
aspirin
(but more effective) might
synthesize
a library of compounds similar to the
molecules
shown above. This sample library contains eight
molecules
. The
molecule
in red is
aspirin
itself. Note the library members all have some similarity in
molecular structure
.
Related terms:
Combinatorial synthesis
,
diversity oriented synthesis
,
lead compound
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