Scanning darkly
Digging for gold in dark chemical matter
As compound collections for high throughput screening (HTS) assays continue to grow, industry researchers are looking for rational ways to streamline massive small molecule screens by creating criteria for which molecules to include. In a Journal of Medicinal Chemistry study, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH researchers shone a light on dark chemical matter - compounds that registered as inactive in 50 or more assays - and showed the molecules remain valuable potential sources of selective compounds until they have failed in at least 125 assays.
“Dark chemical matter refers to compounds that have been exposed to high throughput screening time and time again, yet have never shown up as a hit,” said Ingo Mügge, senior research fellow at Boehringer and an author on the study. ...