Issue 3, 2022

Deep generative models for peptide design

Abstract

Computers can already be programmed for superhuman pattern recognition of images and text. For machines to discover novel molecules, they must first be trained to sort through the many characteristics of molecules and determine which properties should be retained, suppressed, or enhanced to optimize functions of interest. Machines need to be able to understand, read, write, and eventually create new molecules. Today, this creative process relies on deep generative models, which have gained popularity since powerful deep neural networks were introduced to generative model frameworks. In recent years, they have demonstrated excellent ability to model complex distribution of real-word data (e.g., images, audio, text, molecules, and biological sequences). Deep generative models can generate data beyond those provided in training samples, thus yielding an efficient and rapid tool for exploring the massive search space of high-dimensional data such as DNA/protein sequences and facilitating the design of biomolecules with desired functions. Here, we review the emerging field of deep generative models applied to peptide science. In particular, we discuss several popular deep generative model frameworks as well as their applications to generate peptides with various kinds of properties (e.g., antimicrobial, anticancer, cell penetration, etc). We conclude our review with a discussion of current limitations and future perspectives in this emerging field.

Graphical abstract: Deep generative models for peptide design

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 Oct 2021
Accepted
19 Mar 2022
First published
31 Mar 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Digital Discovery, 2022,1, 195-208

Deep generative models for peptide design

F. Wan, D. Kontogiorgos-Heintz and C. de la Fuente-Nunez, Digital Discovery, 2022, 1, 195 DOI: 10.1039/D1DD00024A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements