Fragment-based design of small RNA binders: Promising developments and contribution of NMR

Fragment-based drug design has become increasingly popular over the last decade. We review here the use of this approach to design small RNA binders. In addition, we discuss the use of NMR to detect the binding of small molecules on RNA targets and to guide chemists in the design of compounds targeting RNA.

► We describe natural RNA ligands as a source of knowledge to design RNA ligands. ► An overview of the use of NMR for detecting fragment-binding RNA target is given. ► Application of fragment-based approaches for the design of RNA ligands is reviewed.