Compound management
Encyclopedia
Drug discovery
depends on methods by which many different chemicals are assayed for their activity. These chemicals are stored as physical quantities in a chemical library
or libraries which are often assembled from both outside vendors and internal chemical synthesis
efforts. These chemical libraries are used in high-throughput screening
in the drug discovery hit to lead
process.
The chemical libraries in larger pharmaceutical companies are a critical part of the discovery process. These chemicals are stored in environmentally controlled conditions in small or large containers, often labeled with codes that pass back into a database. Each chemical in the storage bank must be monitored for shelf life, quantity, purity and other parameters, and its banked location. In some companies, the compounds can also include biological compounds, such as purified proteins or nucleic acids. The management of these chemical libraries, including renewal of outdated chemicals, databases containing the information, robotics often involved in fetching chemicals, and quality control of the storage environment is called Compound Management or Compound Control. Compound Management is often a significant expense, as well as career for one or more individuals who manage a chemical library
at a research site.
There are many books and journal articles devoted entirely or in part to compound management. It has become a critical technological component for high-throughput screening and chemical genomics. There are great challenges to be faced in the necessity of compound management, which are being surmounted by concerted efforts in the public and private domain. In 2008, authors at the National Institutes of Health
's Chemical Genomics Center have released a paper showing the necessity of a highly automated, reliable and parallel compound management platform, in order to serve over 200,000 different compounds.
In short, Compound Management requires inventory control of small molecules and biologics needed for assays and experiments, especially in high-throughput screening
. It utilizes knowledge of chemistry
, robotics
, biology
, and database
management. The manager must also be acutely aware of safety standards in the handling and storing of radioactive, volatile, flammable and unstable compounds. Often, in large pharmaceutical companies, the chemical and biological compounds contained in compound libraries can number in the millions, making compound management and compound control important contributors to research and drug discovery
.
, IT support, analytical support, etc.) many companies choose to outsource this function to a company that specializes in this arena. It is important to work with a company that has significant experience in compound management due to the complexity of tracking not only inventory data, but also compound location, storage conditions, and compound integrity. This experience also is of paramount importance when knowing how to appropriately deal with the wide array of materials handled including, solids, liquids, volatile materials, sticky solids, oils, and gums as well as hazardous, flammable, hygroscopic and toxic compounds.
Customers can specify not only the quantity of material but also the exact vial and cap or plate for their specific application. The service provides enormous savings from a time perspective as researchers do not spend their valuable time on weighing hundreds of compounds or getting them into the correct format for their assay. It also dramatically reduces disposal costs since the exact amount of material required can be ordered rather than needing to order e.g. 100 g of material when only 0.1 g is needed for the experiment.
The high throughput analytical chemistry
component of the company allows rapid validation that compounds are the correct material at the desired purity. While ASDI's storage conditions minimize degradation, customers may use this service to validate that the material they sent to ASDI originally was correct and pure. Subsequently the service allows re-evaluation of compounds that may have decomposed during long term storage. The purification
services complement the analytical services by allowing cost effective, environmentally friendly recovery of partially degraded reactive intermediates and HTS compounds at a fraction of the cost of synthesizing or purchasing these materials.
Drug discovery
In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which drugs are discovered or designed.In the past most drugs have been discovered either by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by serendipitous discovery...
depends on methods by which many different chemicals are assayed for their activity. These chemicals are stored as physical quantities in a chemical library
Chemical library
A chemical library or compound library is a collection of stored chemicals usually used ultimately in high-throughput screening or industrial manufacture. The chemical library can consist in simple terms of a series of stored chemicals...
or libraries which are often assembled from both outside vendors and internal chemical synthesis
Chemical synthesis
In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...
efforts. These chemical libraries are used in high-throughput screening
High-throughput screening
High-throughput screening is a method for scientific experimentation especially used in drug discovery and relevant to the fields of biology and chemistry. Using robotics, data processing and control software, liquid handling devices, and sensitive detectors, High-Throughput Screening allows a...
in the drug discovery hit to lead
Drug discovery hit to lead
Early drug discovery involves several phases from target identification to preclinical development. The identification of small molecule modulators of protein function and the process of transforming these into high-content lead series are key activities in modern drug discovery. The Hit-to-Lead...
process.
The chemical libraries in larger pharmaceutical companies are a critical part of the discovery process. These chemicals are stored in environmentally controlled conditions in small or large containers, often labeled with codes that pass back into a database. Each chemical in the storage bank must be monitored for shelf life, quantity, purity and other parameters, and its banked location. In some companies, the compounds can also include biological compounds, such as purified proteins or nucleic acids. The management of these chemical libraries, including renewal of outdated chemicals, databases containing the information, robotics often involved in fetching chemicals, and quality control of the storage environment is called Compound Management or Compound Control. Compound Management is often a significant expense, as well as career for one or more individuals who manage a chemical library
Chemical library
A chemical library or compound library is a collection of stored chemicals usually used ultimately in high-throughput screening or industrial manufacture. The chemical library can consist in simple terms of a series of stored chemicals...
at a research site.
There are many books and journal articles devoted entirely or in part to compound management. It has become a critical technological component for high-throughput screening and chemical genomics. There are great challenges to be faced in the necessity of compound management, which are being surmounted by concerted efforts in the public and private domain. In 2008, authors at the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
's Chemical Genomics Center have released a paper showing the necessity of a highly automated, reliable and parallel compound management platform, in order to serve over 200,000 different compounds.
In short, Compound Management requires inventory control of small molecules and biologics needed for assays and experiments, especially in high-throughput screening
High-throughput screening
High-throughput screening is a method for scientific experimentation especially used in drug discovery and relevant to the fields of biology and chemistry. Using robotics, data processing and control software, liquid handling devices, and sensitive detectors, High-Throughput Screening allows a...
. It utilizes knowledge of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, and database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
management. The manager must also be acutely aware of safety standards in the handling and storing of radioactive, volatile, flammable and unstable compounds. Often, in large pharmaceutical companies, the chemical and biological compounds contained in compound libraries can number in the millions, making compound management and compound control important contributors to research and drug discovery
Drug discovery
In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which drugs are discovered or designed.In the past most drugs have been discovered either by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by serendipitous discovery...
.
Outsourcing
Because of the significant expenses and infrastructure required for accurate compound management (space requirements, roboticsRobotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, IT support, analytical support, etc.) many companies choose to outsource this function to a company that specializes in this arena. It is important to work with a company that has significant experience in compound management due to the complexity of tracking not only inventory data, but also compound location, storage conditions, and compound integrity. This experience also is of paramount importance when knowing how to appropriately deal with the wide array of materials handled including, solids, liquids, volatile materials, sticky solids, oils, and gums as well as hazardous, flammable, hygroscopic and toxic compounds.
Customers can specify not only the quantity of material but also the exact vial and cap or plate for their specific application. The service provides enormous savings from a time perspective as researchers do not spend their valuable time on weighing hundreds of compounds or getting them into the correct format for their assay. It also dramatically reduces disposal costs since the exact amount of material required can be ordered rather than needing to order e.g. 100 g of material when only 0.1 g is needed for the experiment.
The high throughput analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...
component of the company allows rapid validation that compounds are the correct material at the desired purity. While ASDI's storage conditions minimize degradation, customers may use this service to validate that the material they sent to ASDI originally was correct and pure. Subsequently the service allows re-evaluation of compounds that may have decomposed during long term storage. The purification
Purification
Purification is the process of rendering something pure, i.e. clean of foreign elements and/or pollution, and may refer to:* List of purification methods in chemistry* Water purification** Organisms used in water purification...
services complement the analytical services by allowing cost effective, environmentally friendly recovery of partially degraded reactive intermediates and HTS compounds at a fraction of the cost of synthesizing or purchasing these materials.