Applications of ¹⁹F-NMR in fragment-based drug discovery

19F-NMR has proved to be a valuable tool in fragment-based drug discovery. Its applications include screening libraries of fluorinated fragments, assessing competition among elaborated fragments and identifying the binding poses of promising hits. By observing fluorine in both the ligand and the target protein, useful information can be obtained on not only the binding pose but also the dynamics of ligand-protein interactions. These applications of 19F-NMR will be illustrated in this review with studies from our fragment-based drug discovery campaigns against protein targets in parasitic and infectious diseases.