Secondary Screening Assays

Primary screening allows direct high throughput binding measurements of a large amount of compounds without the need for labeling. In the process of high throughput screening (HTS), mistakes about target-compound binding usually occur. Although counter-screen and orthogonal assays can eliminate a large number of false positives, they cannot always eliminate compounds that interact nonspecifically with interested proteins. Therefore, compounds should be validated in context different from the primary assays. Relevant cell-based assays are required for biochemical primary assays.

Secondary screening assays are used to confirm the activity and efficacy of hit compounds found active in the primary screen using robust assays of relevant biology. These functional cellular assays are vital to ensure that hits generated from high throughput screening campaign are reliably translated into leads. The major job of secondary screening is to detect the functional response of the compounds, rather than making this assay to be a high throughput format. In this case, it is guaranteed that compounds can be modulated in more intact systems rather than simply interacting with separated, usually engineered proteins used in the primary assay. The basis of lead series is formed through the whole validation process.

Figure 1. Secondary screening and 'hit' validation. (Tkachyova, I., et al., 2016)

Creative Biolabs provides comprehensive secondary screening assays for hit validation of drug discovery process thus to deal with data reproducibility crisis which is a big obstacle for drug research and development and may lead to failure and high risk of investment. We can drive forward and speed up your drug discovery process by confirming the functional activities and interactions of multiple compounds and targets as well as helping you with medicinal chemistry and pharmacology decision making.

Creative Biolabs serves an efficient secondary screening platform as a complement to HTS assays to avoid target-compound binding mistakes with the support of our highly experienced scientists and world-class instruments. We have established an efficient, flexible and economical secondary screening platform which is highly probe dependent (fluorescent label) to measure binding activity. The cell-based functional activity assays provide invaluable data for drug candidates screening and characterization. This platform is configured by the addition of Fluorescence Image Plate Reader (FLIPR) dye. This assay is particularly useful in identifying active compounds against disease targets, like GPCRs, ion channel, etc.

With the support of our highly experienced scientists and advanced techniques, Creative Biolabs can further drive forward and speed up your drug discovery process by giving consideration to every property of compounds and confirming the functional activities of multiple compounds and targets. We also undertake deeper mechanism of action (MOA) and characterize target-compound interactions. We can help you with medicinal chemistry and pharmacology decision making.

Creative Biolabs has a dedicated assay development team that will work closely with you to design customized assays according to the primary assay of your drug discovery project. Our service will meet your specific needs fast at extremely competitive prices. If you need more information, please feel free to contact us at anytime. We look forward to working with you to help your drug research and development project succeed.

Reference

1. Tkachyova, I., et al., 2016. Ndst1 preferred promoter confirmation and identification of corresponding transcriptional inhibitors as substrate reduction agents for multiple mucopolysaccharidosis disorders. PLoS ONE, 11(9), e0162145.