The widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs block the cyclooxygenase enzymes (COXs) and are clinically used for the treatment of inflammation, pain, and cancers. A selective inhibition of the different isoforms, particularly COX-2, is desirable, and consequently a deeper understanding of the molecular basis of selective inhibition is of great demand. Using an advanced computational technique we have simulated the full dissociation process of a highly potent and selective inhibitor, SC-558, in both COX-1 and COX-2. We have found a previously unreported alternative binding mode in COX-2 explaining the time-dependent inhibition exhibited by this class of inhibitors and consequently their long residence time inside this isoform. Our metadynamics-based approach allows us to illuminate the highly dynamical character of the ligand/protein recognition process, thus explaining a wealth of experimental data and paving the way to an innovative strategy for designing new COX inhibitors with tuned selectivity.nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs | COX selectivity | coxibs | path collective variables | metadynamics N onsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used as therapeutic agents for the treatment of pain and inflammation, and in addition several evidences have been very recently reported on their chemopreventive effect in colorectal cancer (1). Their mechanism of action is based on the blockage of the cyclooxygenase enzymes (COXs) (2) by sterically hindering the entrance of the physiological binder arachidonic acid. The classical NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or flurbiprofen are nonselective and inhibit indifferently all the COXs isoforms. In the last few decades, the interest of scientists has been mostly focused on a selective inhibition between COX-1/COX-2. In fact, the inhibition of COX-1, particularly in the gastrointestinal system, may lead to dangerous side effects such as ulcers. As a consequence, a selective inhibition of COX-2 has been sought for decades, and recently a new generation of NSAIDs, namely coxibs, was found. However, some of them, such as rofecoxib (Vioxx®), have been withdrawn from the market due to their cardiotoxicity (3-5). This was not the case of other COX-2 selective drugs such as celecoxib and nimesulide, with the latter one largely used as an anti-inflammatory agent in many diseases. As a consequence, today, in the rational design of new COXs binders, medicinal chemists have to pay attention to the selectivity properties of the designed drugs, and a fine-tuning of the COX selectivity profile might be necessary to generate novel effective drugs with reduced side effects. In the rational modulation of the binders selectivity precious help comes from the x-ray crystallography. In fact, the crystallographic structures show that selective and nonselective inhibitors generally bind in two different patterns. In COX-1, the space of the selectivity pocket is reduced due to the presence of Ile523, while in COX-2 the presence of Val523 augments the available space provid...