Question

If you were a pharmaceutical researcher, why would you want to learn the three-dimensional shapes of naturally occurring signaling molecules?

Short answer

A researcher must know about the molecular shape of chemicals to understand how certain compounds in medications affect the person who consumes them. Studying 3D models will aid in medical breakthroughs.

For instance, pharmaceutical researchers desire to discover how to manipulate signaling pathways within specific cells in the body to treat diseases. So, the knowledge of 3D models will effectively help in discoveries.

Step-by-step solution

Structure and function of a molecule

A molecule has a unique shape and size that are critical to its function in living cells. Thus, the relevance of molecular structure cannot be overstated because it reveals a great deal about the characteristics and reactivity of molecules.

Importance of molecular shape

The molecular shape determines how specific biological molecules detect and behave to one another. These molecules frequently create weak connections with one another, but only if their forms are complementary.

For instance, researchers studied the relationship between endorphins and opiates. It is observed that because their shapes are complementary, opiates that do not occur naturally in the body can nonetheless bond with endorphins.

Importance of 3D shape for research

To manipulate a pathway, a pharmaceutical researcher might aim to create a synthetic agonist for a pathway or a chemical that activates the process. The 3D structure of the molecules would enable them to bind to receptors, allowing them to activate or inactivate the pathway.

A receptor has a unique 3D form at its binding site that is compatible with only a few molecules; the receptor and signaling molecule must have compatible 3D structures to work together. Thus, the researchers can develop compounds that modify the route using this understanding of molecular structure.