11 Best New Tools for Drug Screening.

Author- Dr. Md. Shamim, MD.

Introduction of New tools for drug screening

New tools for drug screening are need for advancement of drugs in modern era of medical science. Drug screening is the process by which potential drugs are identified and optimized before selection of candidate drugs to progress to clinical trials. It can involve screening of chemicals  particularly biological activity in high throughput screening assays. Drug screening plays a important role in the development and testing of new drugs. As technology continues to advance, new tools are emerging that offer improved accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in the drug screening process. In this article, we will describe into some of the latest tools being used for drug screening.

New tools for drug screening:

1. High-Throughput Screening (HTS)
2. Computational Modelling and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
3. Organ on a chip systems
4. Microarrays
5. Bioinformatics
6. Anti sense technology
7. Zinc fingerprints proteins
8. Haplotype Analysis
9. Chemical driving random mutagenesis
10. Chemical genomics and proteomics
11. Activity based protein profiling

1. High-Throughput Screening (HTS):

• It is a new tools for drug screening.
• High-throughput screening methods have revolutionized the drug discovery process by enhancing the  screening of many compounds.
• These methods utilize automation, robotics, and miniaturization techniques to test thousands of compounds simultaneously.
• Some important examples include:

Microfluidic-based Systems:

• Microfluidic-based systems allow for precise control and manipulation of small volumes of fluids.
• They offer advantages such as reduced reagent consumption, faster analysis times, and increased experimental reproducibility.

Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies:

• Lab-on-a-chip technologies integrate multiple functions onto a single microchip, enabling the miniaturization and automation of complex drug screening assays.
• These systems offer portability, cost-effectiveness, and high throughput capabilities.

2. Computational Modelling and Artificial Intelligence (AI):

• Advancements in computational modelling and AI have had a profound impact on drug screening so, regarded as new tools for drug screening.
• Provide valuable insights into drug-target interactions, prediction of compound efficacy, and identification of potential side effects.
• Here are two key areas:

Virtual Screening:

• Virtual screening involves the use of computer algorithms to identify potential drug candidates based on their molecular properties and interactions with target proteins.
• This approach saves time and resources by prioritizing compounds with the highest likelihood of success.

Machine Learning and Deep Learning:

• Machine learning and deep learning algorithms have shown great promise in drug discovery.
• They can analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns, and predict compound activity.
• These tools aid in the identification of drug candidates and the optimization of lead compounds.

3. Organ-on-a-Chip Systems:

• Organ-on-a-chip systems mimic the structure and function of human organs, allowing for more accurate and reliable drug testing.
• These systems offer a closer representation of human physiology compared to traditional cell-based assays.

4. Microarrays:

• DNA microarrays may be used to measure the expression pattern of thousands of gene in parallel structure.
• Generating clues to gene function that can help to identify appropriate targets for the therapeutic intervention.
• They can also be used to monitor changes in gene expression in response to drug treatment.

 5. Bioinformatics:

• Bioinformatics facilitate the discovery of desirable drugs.
• Bioinformatic analysis can accelerate drug target identification and drug screening and refinement.
• It facilitates characterization of side effects and predict drag resistance.

courtesy: freepik.com

6. Antisense technology:

• It provides rapid and specific method for determination of gene functions, both in vitro.
• It could reduce the cost of drug discovery by expediting the identification of lead targets for drug screening.

7. Zing finger proteins:

• Discovered in 1985, arising from the interpretation of biochemical studies on the interaction of the xenopus protein transcription factor III A with 5Srna.
• It recognizes Novel DNA sequences are the basis of a powerful technology platform with many uses in drug discovery and therapeutics.

8. Haplotype Analysis in Pharmacology:

• It is a set of DNA variations or polymorphism that tend to be inherited together.
• This can be combination of alleles in a single gene, or it can be alleles across multiple genes.
• It may be a single nucleotide polymorphisms that are not in a gene, but in between genes.

9. Chemical Mutagenesis:

• It is an enzymatic mis-corporation techniques causes or small number of mutations throughout a piece of DNA.
• This method develop a library of mutations that are cloned into a plasmid and then screened  for function.

10. Chemical genomics and proteomics:

• It helps in finding drugs for targets in the conventional pharmaceutical approach forward chemical genomics.
• Its goal is to discover the specific molecular target and pathways that are modulated by chemical molecules.

11. Activity based protein profiling:

• The activity of protein is regulated by widespread post-translational regulation in Vivo.
• Protein abundance may not directly co-relate with protein activity.
• Accordingly, methods for activity-based protein profiling may serves as valuable compliment to conventional abundance variation-based approaches.
• Since it was hypothesized that chemical process of directly reporting and the integrity of enzyme active sites in complex proteomics.

Conclusion of New tools for drug screening

The field of drug screening is rapidly evolving, and new tools are continuously being developed to improve its efficiency and accuracy. From high-throughput screening methods to computational modelling and organ-on-a-chip systems and other methods, these innovative tools are revolutionizing the drug discovery process. By harnessing the power of technology, scientists can accelerate the development of new drugs and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

Reference:

1. Artificial intelligence in drug discovery and development.

2. Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms as Tools for Drug Screening.

3. Chemical microarray: a new tool for drug screening and discovery.