High-Throughput Screening Resource Center
The High-Throughput Screening Resource Center (HTSRC) supports scientists in the screening and identification of compounds and genetic modulators of in vitro assays which utilize optical and other bio-analytical technologies. High-Throughput Screening (HTS) requires the miniaturization and automation of bioassays so that millions of variables can be tested. HTS is often an important step in the discovery of new medicines. The center has a collection of 169,000 compounds, automated liquid transfer devices, compound databases, and supports a broad diversity of assay development techniques, typically found in early drug discovery programs.
The Center is configured for processing 96, 384 and 1536-well microtiter plates through the use of automated changeable tip dispensers, non-contact dispensers, and syringe dispensers. For assay technologies, the HTSRC has the capability to support cellular and biochemical assays using absorbance, fluorescent kinetics, fluorescence anisotropy,time-resolved fluorescence, time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer, AlphaScreen, bioluminescence, for example luciferase and green fluorescent protein, scintillation proximity and cellular fluorescence imaging. Assay targets can include ion channels, receptors, enzymes, protein interactions, signaling pathways and cellular processes.
The High-Throughput Screening Resource Center also oversees the management of, training for, and scheduling for optical spectroscopic and calorimetric equipment for use in studies of the structure, function and interactions of biological and organic molecules. The following instruments and associated techniques are available: a microscale thermophoresis instrument, a circular dichroism spectrometer (CD), a surface plasmon resonance detector (SPR), an isothermal calorimeter (ITC).
