Amsbio has released four homogeneous 384-well format Alphascreen assay kits - JMJD2A, JMJD2B, JMJD2C, PRMT5 - and G9a (a histone methyltransferase) for high-throughput drug screening.
To make the search for new drugs more economically viable, pharmaceutical companies are seeking rapid, sensitive assays where all the reaction reagents are added in a single automated step.
Homogeneous assays are said to be popular with researchers involved in high-throughput drug screening because they save time, save reagents and are easy to automate.
These assays allow a simple 'mix and read' process, without requiring lengthy, time-consuming wash steps to remove unbound constituents.
Alphascreen kits are bead-based Alpha technology assays, using microparticles coated with either DNA or protein in a format suitable for use with automated reagent handling systems.
Each Alphascreen or Alphalisa assay contains two bead types: Donor beads and Accepter beads.
Binding of molecules captured on the beads leads to an energy transfer from one bead to the other, ultimately producing a luminescent/fluorescent signal.
This signal can be detected in a plate reader capable of reading 96-, 384- or 1,595-well plates.
There are two types of beads, one used for Alphascreening and one for Alphalisa.
The Alphalisa bead emission (615nm) is narrower and brighter than the Alphascreen bead emission (520-620nm).
Kits are suitable with either assay format.
These are the first in a series of kits that enables Amsbio to broaden its offering in Kinase PDE and HDAC screening and profiling products and services.
