Probative value
How chemists are proposing to improve chemical probe quality in preclinical R&D
The use of low-quality chemical probes in preclinical R&D and the use of probes in the wrong settings or concentrations are two of the main culprits behind unreliable preclinical results and failures in translational science, according to a group of 53 prominent medicinal chemists and translational researchers who published a Commentary in Nature Chemical Biology. The group has launched an online community-driven resource to advance proper probe use in preclinical studies, but the challenge will be getting buy-in from stakeholders including journals, funders and, not least, the investigators themselves.
The chemists, who represent leading figures from a variety of organizations including the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), NIH, and various universities and companies, joined together to create the Chemical Probes Portal, a wiki-like website designed to use crowdsourced expertise in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. The group's goal is to provide researchers with information about what chemical probes are suitable for which therapeutic target, and how to use the molecules appropriately in different preclinical systems. ...