Structural analog

For other uses of analog, see Analog (disambiguation).

In chemistry, a structural analog (structural analogue), also known as chemical analog or simply analog, is a compound having a structure similar to that of another one, but differing from it in respect of a certain component. It can differ in one or more atoms, functional groups, or substructures, which are replaced with other atoms, groups, or substructures. A structural analog can be imagined to be formed, at least theoretically, from the other compound.

Despite a high chemical similarity, structural analogs are not necessarily functional analogs and can have very different physical, chemical, biochemical, or pharmacological properties.

In drug development large series of structural analogs of an initial lead compound are created and tested as part of a structure-activity relationship study.

See also

• Derivative (chemistry)
• Homolog, a compound of a series differing only by repeated units
• Functional analog, compounds with similar physical, chemical, biochemical, or pharmacological properties
• Transition state analog