Matrix Combination Screening Scientific Capabilities
Matrix combination screening lets NCATS scientists quickly analyze many possible drug combinations and find those with the most potential to help patients.
The Matrix Combination Screening Platform
The state-of-the-art high-throughput matrix combination screening platform relies on a robotics system, custom data analysis software and a web interface that shows data in a straightforward format that is easy to understand.
Thousands of combination pairs can be analyzed with this platform in a cost- and time-effective way, letting our scientists quickly narrow down a long list of drug pairs to identify the most effective drug combinations for follow-up and clinical studies.
The unbiased discovery of drug combinations through the matrix platform may reveal treatments that are more effective, delay onset of resistance and can be used at lower, less toxic doses.
Matrix Screening Scientific Capabilities
Our combination screening experts use an automated platform capable of screening thousands of drug combinations each week. Compound libraries include approved drugs, agents currently under clinical evaluation and high-value tool compounds. Researchers can apply combination screening to varied cell-based phenotypic assays ranging from simple viability assessments to more complex high-content studies.
The NCATS robotic combination screening platform takes advantage of an existing high-throughput screening foundation as well as several core enhancements:
- Mechanism interrogation plates library of pharmacologically defined small molecules for high-precision combination screening of known-mechanism compounds
- Acoustic dispensing technology provided by EDC Biosystems
- A custom web-based interface for data analysis and access to results