An Automated Compound Management System for Small Molecule Drug Discovery - ABSTRACT Southern Research (SR) is requesting funds for the purchase of a Hamilton Verso M3 (“Verso”) to assist in the execution of drug discovery and chemical biology projects. The Verso will serve as the small molecule repository for SR, UAB, and several institutions in the region, replacing the current de-centralized model. This will complement the role of SR as the provider of high-throughput screening, chemistry, and other downstream drug discovery activities to the participating institutions. The Verso will store samples in a -20 ºC dry environment, enable single container retrieval (“cherry-picking”), allow active thawing within the system, provide an up-to-date inventory of the contents, and provide real-time monitoring of the system status. These primary features of the system will serve to protect the samples’ integrity, replace the current manual steps of retrieval and storage, and improve the processes that track samples from source container to experimental results. Activities that the Verso service will support include primary screening to identify active compounds, confirmation and counter-screening of primary and virtual screening hits, in vitro potency determinations during hit-to-lead and lead optimization stages, drug repurposing screening, and fundamental chemical biology studies. The projects that will benefit from the Verso represent multiple stages along the discovery pipeline ranging from early target identification and validation studies to those at the threshold of clinical trials. As Southern Research charts a path of growth, the need for small molecule drug discovery will grow as well. Currently, SR’s collection is comprised of over 4000 plates (containing 320 compounds each) and over 66,000 single containers (tubes and vials) managed across groups with suboptimal manual processes. Estimated growth is expected to consist of approximately 1600 individual samples per year and the acquisition of a new 100,000 compound library in multiple formats to serve the needs of the users. The user base will grow by progressing early-stage projects from pilot screen to a full screening campaign and by identifying promising new targets and approaches to fund through the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance (ADDA). The implementation of an automated compound management system will be critical for supporting this growth and contributing to ongoing NIH-funded projects and newly emerging drug discovery programs.
