Applications of MicroED in structural biology and structure-based drug discovery

Salma Mirza; Malik Shoaib Ahmad

doi:10.1016/j.bbagen.2025.130758

Applications of MicroED in structural biology and structure-based drug discovery

Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2025 Jan 4;1869(3):130758. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2025.130758. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Salma Mirza¹, Malik Shoaib Ahmad²

Affiliations

¹ Dow University of Health Sciences, Ojha, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
² Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan. Electronic address: malik.shoaib.ahmed@iccs.edu.

PMID: 39761934
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2025.130758

Abstract

Microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) is an emerging method for the structure determination of proteins and peptides, enzyme-inhibitor complexes. Several structures of biomolecules, including lysozyme, proteinase K, adenosine receptor A2A, insulin, xylanase, thermolysin, DNA, and Granulovirus occlusion bodies, have been successfully determined through MicroED. As MicroED uses very small crystals for structure determination, therefore, it has several advantages over conventional X-ray diffraction methods. In this review article, we discussed the most recent developments in the field of MicroED and its applications for the structural determination of different types of peptides, proteins, enzymes, DNA, and enzyme-inhibitor-complexed structures.

Keywords: Enzyme-inhibitor complexes; MicroED; Proteins and DNA.

Publication types

Review