Small Molecule Screening Facility (SMSF)

The small molecule screening facility at UMass Medical School headed by Dr. Hong Cao has allowed scientists a unique opportunity to apply the tools and principles of chemistry to understand the processes of living cells.

The facility assists researchers in developing high-throughput (HT) screening assays, performs HT screens of chemical libraries to identify new small molecules that can be used to probe biological processes of interest.

The facility coordinates the screening efforts of researchers, providing access to diverse chemical libraries and state-of-the art instruments including robotic compound transfer, liquid-handling equipment, imagers and plate readers.

The SMSF currently has a 30,000 drug-like small molecules from Chembridge DIVERset library. The set is rationally selected based on 3D pharmacophore analysis to cover the broad part of the biologically relevant pharmacohore diversity space. A highly recognized and proven primary screen tool for a wide range of both validated and new biological targets. The Chembrige pre-designed collection is a larger collection for hit and lead identification.

The SMSF also offers a LOPAC library for researchers to screen 1280 pharmacologically active compounds. This annotated collection of small molecule modulators and approved drugs impacts most cellular processes and covers all major drug target classes. The LOPAC screen is considered as a great pilot screen.

The SMSF recently purchased a new library from MicroSource: FDA-approved US drug collection (1040 compounds) and International drug collection (240 compounds). This library is also used for a pilot screen.