Screening and assay development remains one of the most challenging and resource-intensive steps in the drug discovery process, with the end result depending on proper balance of assays, experimental design, and data management.

 

Caliper Life Sciences offers a comprehensive suite of solutions and scientific expertise to help streamline and eliminate bottlenecks associated with traditional screening and assay development by providing a wide-range of systems for analog creation and compound management.  This includes many systems, from our Sciclone Series of liquid handlers and the Zephyr Compact Liquid Handling Workstation for analog creation, to our Twister II plate handling system and Presto Stacker for plate management and storage. 

 

Caliper’s LabChip® 3000 drug discovery system revolutionized enzymatic screening and assay development with 75% of the top 15 pharmaceutical companies actively using LabChip technology in their drug discovery programs. The LabChip 3000 drug discovery system miniaturizes, integrates and automates enzymatic assays. LabChip assays are separations-based, so the quality of results (high Z' values, few false positives, few false negatives and analytical quality reproducibility) are the reasons cited for the increasing reliance on this technology platform.

 

With the LabChip technology platform quickly being recognized as the new gold standard for kinase profiling, Caliper now takes assay development and screening to the next level with the introduction of the LabChip EZ Reader benchtop system. When combined with our ProfilerPro Kinase Selectivity Kits this system provides researchers with a turn-key solution to in-house kinase profiling. The EZ Reader or EZ Reader II systems are ideal not only for standard kinase screening, profiling and kinase assay development using our LabChip Validated Substrates but also for non-kinases enzymatic assay development and screening projects right on your benchtop!

 

With over 25 years as an industry leader and pioneer in the life science automation, Caliper’s Automation, Consulting, Engineering, & Services (ACES) team has the expertise to custom design integrated system solutions that are tailored to specific assay and development and screening needs. Examples of such systems are Caliper’s wide-range of Staccato-, RapidPlate, Sciclone and Mini workstations designed for its customers.

 

Finally, Caliper Life Sciences provides custom assay development and screening services through its outsourcing division, Caliper Discovery Alliances & Services (CDAS). CDAS has assay development programs directed toward serving the science needs of clients using the most appropriate detection methods for a given molecular target and screening objective. Assay development and screening capabilities encompass CDAS’ core capabilities including compound profiling and high throughput screening for all major therapeutic targets. Programs include lead identification, hit-to-lead and lead optimization biochemical and cellular assays focused on several areas of interest. Assays can be developed on a proprietary or non-proprietary basis.  Below are examples of specialized assay development and screening project areas performed this past year by CDAS:

- Protein- ligand interactions

- Ion channels

- Nuclear receptors

- Kinases

- Phosphatases

- Proteases

- Cellular responses (including immune response assays)

- Toxicology

 

Contact your Caliper sales representative for additional information on how we can help guide your assay development and screening programs.