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Fragment screening

Discover new leads with our tailored fragment screening solutions

Fragment screening (FS) is a proven method for identifying new chemical matter. We utilise biophysical and crystallographic methods to screen our proprietary library of ~2,000 fragments. Our tailored FS solutions are designed to fit your program's needs, guiding fragment growing or linking to optimise potency and selectivity. FS can also be combined with high-throughput screening (HTS) for comprehensive lead-finding programs.

E3 Ligase and 4 examples of fragment hits

Fragment libraries

Our fragment libraries include two Ro3-compliant options: 2,000 fragments in 50 mM D6-DMSO for biophysical screening and 900 fragments in 500 mM DMSO for high-throughput X-ray (HTX) screening. Fast structure–activity relationships (SAR) of fragment hits can be obtained via SAR-by-catalogue at external vendors or by mining our internal life science database of over 3 million compounds. Additionally, we can screen your fragment library alongside our in-house options.

Fragment library plate in an acoustic liquid handling system

High-throughput X-ray crystallographic screening (HTX)

HTX fragment screening is a powerful technique for detecting and elucidating the binding modes of very weak binders. Our fully integrated HTX workflow within our internal structural biology platform enables fast and efficient screening of up to 1,000 fragments.

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surface plasmon resonance (SPR)

Due to its low protein requirement and "label-free" methodology, SPR is one of the preferred biophysical methods for screening fragment libraries. Fragments are typically screened once at a given concentration for binding, followed by KD titrations for all binders.

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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)

NMR has evolved into a powerful technique in fragment-based drug discovery. We offer both protein-observed and ligand-observed methods to suit your target needs. NMR is robust in detecting very weak interactions and can be used to establish SARs. Additionally, NMR allows for studying the binding sites and modes-of-action of fragment hits.

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Thermal shift assay (TSA)

TSA measures the difference in the melting temperature of your target in the presence of a fragment, requiring only a small amount of protein and providing rapid results. TSA can identify tool fragments to validate other biophysical assays when no suitable tools are available early in the project.

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Mass spectrometry (MS)

While MS is not typically the primary screening method in fragment-based drug discovery, it offers high sensitivity, low sample consumption and a label-free approach. We provide MS-based screening for covalent libraries (LC-MS based) and ligand-observed MS using fragment cocktails.

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Related topics & resources

Discussing new lead optimization strategies identified from a new target-compound structure.

Structural biology platform

We use 3D structural information from X-ray crystallography or cryo-EM to accelerate your drug discovery process.

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Placing samples into the instrument for SPR analysis

Biophysics

We support you with in-depth analysis of compound-target interactions with our biophysics toolbox.

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protein-ligand binding site 

Molecular modelling

Leverage structural biology data though molecular modelling to accelerate access to improved chemical matter.

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