Lecture 6.1 Flashcards
(53 cards)
What is high-throughput screening (HTS)?
An enabling technology that aims to rapidly assess the activity of a large number of compounds or extracts on a given target
What is the difference bwteen HTS and uHTS?
HTS: 96- and 384-well plates
uHTS: 1536-well plates with minuscule volumes (uL to nL
scale)
–> peak throughput rates of over 100,000
compounds/day
HTS usually takes weeks of engineering and fine-tuning to achieve sufficient __________, ________, and ______________
speed, robustness, and cost-effectiveness
What are the challenges associated with developing a HTS assay?
- Reagent stability and cost
- Environmental factors (temp/oxidation/agitation)
- statistic –> signal-to-noise ratios, quality measures
What are some low-throughput assays?
- filtration
- ELISA
- centrifugation
What is the problem associated with filtration as an assay?
time consuming and waste generating
What is the problem associated with ELISA as an assay?
too many assay steps and washes
What is the problem associated with centrifugation as an assay?
time consuming
Define drug screening.
the search for a chemical entity that interacts selectively with a defined biological target
Why did the invention of 96-well microtiter plate mark the beginnig of HTS?
parallel processing, miniaturization and applicable to automation
What is the standard solvent for samples for HTS?
dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)
–> most compounds are soluble in DMSO
–> DMSO is compatible in small quantites (1%) with most biological targets
Why is DMSO an ideal solvent for compound shipment?
high melting point (18.5C)
What precaution should be taken when using DMSO as a solvent for samples?
DMSO is hygroscopic, samples must be stored in a dry environment.
How are samples for HTS usually stored?
in microtiter plates in a dry, inert, and cold environment (-20°C to 4°C) to prevent compound degradation (oxidation) and precipitation
What kind of a storage system may be required if the compound library is large?
an automated liquid storage system (e.g., REMP AG)
–> store more than a million microtiter plates in a
temperature- and humidity-controlled environment and provide robotized access
Apart from being stored in microtiter plates, how else could compound libraries be stored?
as dry films
What is the advantage of storing compound libraries as dry films?
- reduced likelihood of sample oxidation
- reconstitution in an appropriate solvent
What is the disadvantage of storing compound libraries as dry films?
uncertainty that all of the compounds will be redissolved in the assay medium in the absence of a solubilizer
Explain the principle of mother and daughter plates?
The transition of samples from compound storage to HTS requires the preparation of intermediate dilution plates
Mother plate –> intermediate dilution –> daugher plates —> HTS assay platforms
How is sample stored in the mother plate?
in a frozen DMSO solution
Why is compound management facility needed?
to manage various sources of compound libraries, ranging from historical collection of synthetic compounds to natural product extract libraries
Why barcodes on microtiter plates?
to track them and to provide a unique identification number for each compound
What is the advantage of using barcodes for identification of microtiter plates and their compounds?
inexpensive, offer exceptional security, minimize errors, and provide real-time data exchange
Barcodes are frequently printed with readable text, which allows for simultaneous human and automatic decoding.
True or false
True