Molecular docking and binding interaction between psychedelic drugs and human serum albumin
BioTechnologia June 16, 2020 Hossein Khastar, Kobra Foroughi, Seyed Shahrokh Aghayan et al. 3 citations
Psychedelic drugs such as LSD, DMT, DOI, psilocybin, psilocin, and mescaline can bind to human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant protein in blood serum. Using molecular docking simulations, the study found that all tested drugs interact with HSA at subdomains IA and IB. LSD showed the strongest binding with a minimum binding energy of -7.6 kcal/mol, followed by psilocybin at -6.5 kcal/mol. The structural properties of each drug influence its binding site and energy. These findings suggest that albumin may act as a biodistributor for psychedelic drugs, which is relevant for understanding their circulation and potential drug-drug interactions.