Purple acid phosphatases are metalloenzymes found in animals, plants and fungi. They possess a binuclear metal centre to catalyse the hydrolysis of phosphate esters and anhydrides under acidic conditions. In humans, elevated purple acid phosphatases levels in sera are correlated with the progression of osteoporosis and metabolic bone malignancies, making this enzyme a target for the development of new chemotherapeutics to treat bone-related illnesses. To date, little progress has been achieved towards the design of specific and potent inhibitors of this enzyme that have drug-like properties. Here, we have undertaken a fragment-based screening approach using a 500-compound library identifying three inhibitors of purple acid phosphatases with K i values in the 30-60 lM range. Ligand efficiency values are 0.39-0.44 kcal ⁄ mol per heavy atom. X-ray crystal structures of these compounds in complex with a plant purple acid phosphatases (2.3-2.7 Å resolution) have been determined and show that all bind in the active site within contact of the binuclear centre. For one of these compounds, the phenyl ring is positioned within 3.5 Å of the binuclear centre. Docking simulations indicate that the three compounds fit into the active site of human purple acid phosphatases. These studies open the way to the design of more potent and selective inhibitors of purple acid phosphatases that can be tested as anti-osteoporotic drug leads.Key words: X-ray, crystallography, drug design, fragment screening, purple acid phosphatase, osteoporosis Purple acid phosphatases (PAP) are metalloenzymes that hydrolyse phosphate esters and anhydrides, generally at low pH values (1). The distinctive purple colour of these enzymes is due to a metal to ligand charge transfer from a tyrosine phenolate to a chromophoric Fe(III) (2,3). The cornerstone of the active site of PAP is the presence of two metal ions; Fe(III) is always present in the chromophoric site, while the second site can be occupied by a redox active Fe(II ⁄ III) in mammals (4,5) or a Zn(II) or Mn(II) in plants (6,7). Mammalian PAP is a 35 kDa monomeric protein also known as tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP or TRAcP). In contrast, plant PAP is a 110 kDa homodimer, with each subunit consisting of two domains, an N-terminal one whose function is unknown and a catalytic C-terminal domain that strongly resembles the overall structure of the mammalian enzyme (1). Crystal structures of human (8), pig (9), rat (10,11) and plant PAPs (12,13) have been determined and show that the amino acid ligands of the metal ions are completely conserved across plant and animal PAPs, but there are some differences in the identities of the residues that line the active site.A number of biological roles for PAP have been proposed. These include (i) the transport of iron from the mother to the developing foetus during gestation (14); (ii) bone resorption in osteoclasts (evidence for this activity is derived from the effect of PAP on osteoclasts that were cultured on cortical bone slices (15) and from t...