Dynamic Equilibrium: Is it an Important Concept in Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery?

Abstract

Dynamic equilibrium is one of the important aspects of study, because its existence can be observed in the infinitesimally small cells within the body to the huge adversities of the nature. In organic chemistry, a single compound having dynamic equilibrium states gives a driving force to create diversity-oriented synthesis of library of products from the same single compound. In chemical biology, the protein/nucleic acids are in constant equilibrium with their changing conformations/folds, which is responsible for the biological activity with a very small level of energy barrier for the conformational/folds inter-conversion. In medicinal/ pharmaceutical chemistry, a drug having dynamic equilibrium states plays an important role in the delivery of the drug on the active site across the cell membrane in a dynamic fashion and also acts as self-protection for the active drug molecule. Herein, we present a brief account on the existence and application of dynamic equilibrium states in chemical and biological chemistry as well as its existence in other inorganic complexes. Information regarding the existence of exact 1:1 ratio of the two dynamic equilibrium forms of chemical entities in the chemical reaction from organic, inorganic and biological perspectives have been discussed. We believe that this review is the first of its kind to discuss the importance of dynamic equilibrium states in chemical and biological systems, addressing the question to the scientific community as and the importance of the concept for further study.