Integrated High Throughput Screening Platform core facility

The HTS platform at IBRA is an assay development site validated by EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC.

The HTS platform at IBRA is an assay development site validated by EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC. The HTS platform is equipped for miniaturization and automatization of assays for various biological targets such as GPCRs, RTKs, ion channels, proteases, phosphatases

The integrated platform consists of a Liquid handling automation workstation Biomek FXp with 96 multichannel pipetting head, Span-8 and a pin-tool system (Beckman Coulter); Microplate washer: ELx405 (Biotek); Cell incubator CO2: Cytomat 48 Hotel (Thermo); Microplate incubators (standard and deep well microplates); Multimodal microplate reader: SpectraMax Paradigm (Molecular Devices): absorbance, luminescence, fluorescence, polarized fluorescence, BRET, FRET, TR-FRET. For other automatic liquid handling tasks a Biomek 3000 liquid handler is also available.

Our basic services

  • Assay development and validation: The team in IBRA will advise the user during the design of the biological assay in order to be enable a smooth miniaturization and automatization process (at least 96 well plate format). Secondary and counter screen assays will be also performed.
  • Pilot screen and assay transfer: Following the assay validation, a pilot screen may be performed with a diversity library of 5000 compounds (ChemDiv) present in IBRA. The assay(s) may be transferred to screening sites with a higher throughput (100000 compounds per week).
  • Hit analysis: The selected hits will be analyzed using different chemoinformatics tools and a few chemotypes will be prioritized.
  • Hit validation: Concentration response curves will be performed for the prioritized hits and IC50 (or comparable parameters) will be determined. Lead compound(s) will be identified considering the compound(s) structure, biologic activity and cellular toxicity.
  • Hit to lead optimization: Different bioinformatics and chemoinformatics approaches will be employed to design hit derivatives with predicted improved biological activity.

Contact:

Dr. Costin-Ioan Popescu (pop@biochim.ro)

Dr. Sorin Tunaru (sorin.tunaru@biochim.ro)