Society for Biomolecular Screening

Early laboratory robots were unreliable, but today, these systems perform quite well. Today s robots simply move plates from one robot-friendly position to another, such as the entrance pad of a plate reader. These simplified movements combined with the low weight of a plate allow engineering to simplify the robot designs. As seen in industrial application of robots, robots that are defined and used for a specific application will work day in and day out quite well. It is always best to keep the automation as simple as possible to get the highest level of performance. This is usually accomplished by minimizing the number of moveable parts associated with the automation. Stackers have also become more reliable. This was due, in part, to the standardization of the microplate by an effort of the Society for Biomolecular Screening (Danbury, CT, U.S.A.) in association with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, Washington, DC, U.S.A.), but also due to the use of simpler stacker mechanisms. Today, there are many choices for devices, workstations, and fully automated systems. The selection as to which automated devices to purchase for HTS should be driven by a clear set of specifications that define the use of the automation. The choices can be expensive, and therefore, replacement may not be possible, so it is important to choose well. 

Kashem, M., Yingling, J., Nelson, R., and Homon, C., New tools for screening protein kinases a comparative study, presented at 9th Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Society for Biomolecular Screening, Portland, OR, September 21-25, 2003. 

S. Hobbs, P. Patel, C. Coyne and K. Oldenburg, Society for Biomolecular Screening, 10th Conference and Exhibition, 2004, Orlando, FL., USA. 

Figure 1. A simplified plot of the distribution of molecules (symbols) in an idealized two-dimensional chemical property space. The upper plot (a) represents a database consisting of discrete sets of close analogues. The lower plot (b) represents the Optiverse library. (Adapted from ref. 4. Copyright 1996 The Society for Biomolecular Screening, Inc.).

Cronk D (2001) Cell-based high-throughput screening of ion channels using FLIPR and VIPR membrane potential assay technology. Presented at 7th annual conference of Society for Biomolecular Screening, Baltimore, MD, 10-13 September 2001. SBS, Danbury, Abstract no 119... 

Nie, D., Hilton, A., and Gosnell, P. 1998. DMSO in HTS the effect of water absorption and evaporation. Paper presented at 4th annual conference of Society for Biomolecular Screening, Baltimore, September 1998. 

American National Standards Institute and Society for Biomolecular Screening, ANSI/SBS Standard for Microplate - Well Positions, April 2004 see http //www.sbsonline.org/msdc/pdf/ANSl SBS l-2004.pdf. 

Application of time resolved fluorescence to natural product drug discovery. Poster at The Society for Biomolecular Screening. 1st Annual Conf. Philadelphia. 7-10 Nov. 

Z. Heaton, S. Holland, R. Hughes, R. Lifely, L. Robb, Society for Biomolecular Screening Conference, Baltimore, MD (2001). 

S. Nelson, Society for Biomolecular Screening Conference, Baltimore, MD... 

The momentum behind HTS has fostered the formation of a professional society founded in 1993, the Society of Biomolecular Screening (SBS), in order to provide an accessible and visible forum for this core technology [8], The view of leading members of this society is that neither primary screening capacity nor compound supply is rate-limiting for drug discovery. This review will discuss some of the main elements of modem HTS. 

The standardization of the footprint and the relative position of the weUs on a plate, as recommended by the Society of Biomolecular Screening (SBS), was tremendously helpful in developing the automation tools needed for HTS, such as dispensers, pipettors, plate readers, and plate transportation, although there are a few laboratories and biotechnology companies that use specially designed plates (such as 864-well, 2080-well, 3455-well or 9600-weU plates). 

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