The structural and biochemical/pharmacological characteristics of proteins, which play a key role in the pathophysiology of diseases, are investigated and target proteins for computer-aided drug design (de novo design) and discovery (virtual screening) procedures are determined. Compounds that are expected to show the desired biological activities are selected for synthesis. The synthesized compounds are tested in molecular pharmacological assays (binding assays, receptor activation/inhibition assays, enzyme activation/inhibition assays, antioxidant/antiradical tests, etc.) to investigate their biological effects. Compounds with the desired pharmacological/toxicological profile may be further investigated in preclinical assays.