Polymerization

Polymerization is a fundamental biological and chemical process in which monomeric units are linked together to form large, chain-like macromolecules or complex structural networks. In a therapeutic context, polymerization is not a single molecular target but rather a biological mechanism that is modulated by various drug classes to treat disease. For example, anti-cancer therapies often target the polymerization of tubulin into microtubules to disrupt the mitotic spindle, while antiviral drugs frequently target the polymerization of nucleic acids by inhibiting viral DNA or RNA polymerases (NCBI, 2023; UniProt, 2024). Additionally, modern pharmacology targets the pathological polymerization of proteins, such as sickle hemoglobin (HbS) in sickle cell disease or amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's disease, to prevent the formation of toxic aggregates (Vichinsky et al., 2019). Because 'Polymerization' encompasses a vast array of distinct molecular events involving different enzymes and structural proteins across various physiological systems, it is classified as a biological process rather than a specific therapeutic receptor or enzyme target.

Other names

Biological polymerizationMacromolecular assemblyChain elongationSelf-assembly

Inhibition of monomer addition, stabilization of polymers to prevent disassembly, or kinetic stabilization of protein states to prevent pathological aggregation.