Peptide Library
A large collection of peptides with systematically varied sequences, used in drug discovery to screen for compounds that bind to a specific biological target. Peptide libraries can contain millions of unique sequences and are a key tool in identifying lead compounds for therapeutic development.
Technical Context
Peptide libraries are generated through combinatorial chemistry (solid-phase synthesis with split-and-mix approaches), phage display (expressing peptides on bacteriophage surfaces), mRNA display, ribosome display, or computational design. Libraries can contain 10^6 to 10^13 unique sequences. Screening methods include affinity-based selection (biopanning against immobilised targets), high-throughput functional assays, and in silico docking simulations. Hits identified from library screens serve as starting points for medicinal chemistry optimisation — lead peptides are iteratively modified to improve potency, selectivity, stability, and pharmacokinetics. This process has been used to discover many clinically relevant peptide drug candidates.