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The art of the chemical probe

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Chemical biologists frequently aim to create small-molecule probes that interact with a specific protein in vitro in order to explore the role of the protein in a broader biological context (cells or organisms), but a common understanding of what makes a high-quality probe is lacking. Here I propose a set of principles to guide probe qualification.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stephen V. Frye is in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products and the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,

    Stephen V Frye

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  1. Stephen V Frye
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Correspondence to Stephen V Frye.

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Frye, S. The art of the chemical probe. Nat Chem Biol 6, 159–161 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.296

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