INSIDE THE DRUG. WHY THE SHAPE OF A MOLECULE MATTERS

Majed Chergui, professor of Chemistry and Physics EPFL-Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Stephanie Federico, professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of Trieste

Paola Storici, head Protein Laboratory, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste

Marcello Turconi, head scientific communication CERIC- ERIC

Some drugs work perfectly. Others, almost identical, do not. Sometimes, a tiny detail — invisible to the naked eye — makes the difference between an effective treatment and an unwanted effect. That detail is called chirality, and today science is studying it with increasingly advanced tools to design safer and more targeted medications. In this talk, experts in structural biology, pharmaceutical chemistry, and physics will guide us on a fascinating journey into the world of molecular shapes, where every asymmetry matters.