The Southern Research High-Throughput Screening Center supports therapeutic discovery by aiding in the identification and characterization of pharmacologically active compounds. We partner with industry, government, and academic clients to provide assay development, screening, and data management. We support a wide range of in vitro assay formats and readouts, allowing the investigation of a variety of target classes. Our services are comprehensive as we house and maintain a small molecule collection of over 650,000 compounds (including FDA-approved and known biologically active compounds), and we provide full compound management support.
Combined with our organizational expertise in computer-aided drug design and medicinal chemistry, we can support your program by identifying initial chemical matter and running primary and secondary assays to advance to later discovery stages. We believe in developing and applying the assays that best reflect the biology you are studying, increasing your odds of translating your discoveries to the clinic.
Our expertise encompasses:
1. Robust and Customized Assay Development:
- Design and develop robust and reproducible assays for your target of interest, utilizing various biophysical, biochemical, and cell-based methodologies.
- Customize assays to your specific requirements, considering target relevance, throughput, and sensitivity.
2. High-Throughput Automation and Screening:
- Leverage advanced robotic platforms and sophisticated automation technologies to screen millions of compounds in a rapid and efficient manner.
- Implement high-quality controls and data acquisition systems to ensure the accuracy and reliability of screening results.
3. Hit Identification and Prioritization:
- Employ sophisticated data analysis tools and machine learning algorithms to identify promising hit compounds from the vast library screened.
- Prioritize hits based on potency, selectivity, and other relevant parameters to guide further optimization and development.
4. Hit Confirmation and Characterization:
- Confirm the activity and specificity of hit compounds through orthogonal assays and biochemical characterization.
- Support confirmation and validation for virtual and DNA-encoded library (DEL) screening hits.
- Elucidate the mechanism of action of promising hits to guide lead optimization and development strategies.
5. Lead Optimization and Candidate Selection:
- Utilize structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis and computational modeling to optimize lead compounds for improved potency, selectivity, and other desired properties.
- Select the most promising lead candidate for further preclinical and clinical development.
