Biophysical Technologies provide the key tools in the crucial steps of drug development: Applying high-throughput approaches, biophysical technologies screen libraries of drug candidates and thus help to select for the most promising compounds in very early stages of drug development. However, these methods are also essential in understanding the mechanism of interactions of drug candidates with their target molecules. A combination of different biophysical techniques should be employed to shed light on different aspects of their mode of action, thus improving the quality of therapeutics and speed up the development process.
MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) is a novel and exciting technology to enhance the discovery process in pharmaceutical industry. Since this technology is not limited by any changes in size upon binding, even very small compounds and fragments can be investigated for binding to their target molecule. The MST technology allows for the determination of binding affinities and other biophysical parameters such as stoichiometry directly in solution without surface immobilization. Exploiting the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence of proteins this method provides a truly label-free experimental setup. This combination of high sensitivity towards small molecules and close to native conditions in an immobilization-free and label-free experimental design makes MST a powerful method for Drug Discovery.
The MST Drug Discovery Forum is a unique opportunity to discuss the applications of MST and the positioning of MST in the industrial workflow.
The topics of the conference include: