Compound Management – Maintenance of Chemical Compound Libraries for Use in High Throughput Screening

Abstract

Historically, the Compound Management (CM) has emerged to fulfill the needs of High Throughput Screening (HTS) and other drug discovery processes for maintaining large collections (typically more than hundreds of thousands) of small organic molecules. High quality of the individual chemical compounds as well as of the whole library is substantial for achieving reliable HTS results. Identity of the compounds is guaranteed by observing standard operating procedures for registration and handling. Every sample in the library is labeled with 2D DataMatrix barcode to allow automated tracking of the complete history and precise sample localization at any time-point. Long-time stability of the chemical samples is ensured by optimum storage (–20 °C, inert atmosphere) and, in case of liquids, by effective handling (limiting of freeze-thaw cycles, minimizing exposure to atmosphere, etc.), both realized by employing automated robotic systems. CM makes a use of dedicated Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) which integrates various cheminformatics tools to ensure accessibility and integrity of the inventory data. The ultimate goal of CM is providing the suitable compounds of uncompromised quality and in desired format (384- or 1536-well microtiter plates) for the biological HTS experiment.