As the first UK contract research organisation to invest in the instrument, Domainex is in a unique position to offer its partners and clients improved fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) services in their quest for new hit molecules.
The high-throughput device uses MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) technology, which is emerging as a leading technique for quantifying molecular interactions and structural dynamics, presenting binding affinity results in just a few minutes.
Offering many additional advantages compared with alternative molecular interaction assay methods, MST is able to measure molecular interactions in solution at near native conditions, providing researchers with a free choice of assay buffer systems.
"We are very pleased to be advancing our fragment based drug discovery service at Domainex with the addition of this automated MST platform. The combination of this technology with our proprietary Combinatorial Domain Hunting expertise will enable us to offer a unique protein production, characterisation, and fragment screening service at a speed and of a quality not matched by our competitors," commented Trevor Perrior, CSO for Domainex.
"The sensitivity of MST means that we can screen compound and fragment libraries using very small amounts of protein. The technology can significantly reduce the number of false positives and false negatives, meaning that we can find hits that may otherwise be overlooked. This technique therefore allows us to enhance our FBDD processes and, when coupled with our expertise in medicinal chemistry, provide our partners with higher quality clinical candidate compounds."
"NanoTemper Technologies is extremely excited to announce Domainex as the first company in the UK to offer fragment screening services using our proprietary MST technology," added Dr Stefan Duhr, CEO, NanoTemper Technologies. "From our UK subsidiary in Cambridge we have an excellent relationship with Domainex and look forward to working with them in the future to deliver high-quality fragment screening results on novel targets."
