Neutron crystallography aids in drug design

Neutron crystallography is an important complementary technique to X-ray crystallography since it provides details of the hydrogen atom and proton positions in biological molecules. Furthermore, as neutrons are a non-destructive probe, the resulting structures are free from radiation damage even at room temperature. Knowledge of H-bonding networks, water molecule orientations and protonation states, along with details of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, can prove vital towards a better understanding of many biological processes, such as enzyme mechanisms and can help guide structure-based drug design.

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