Using Microscale Thermophoresis to Characterize Hits from High-Throughput Screening: A European Lead Factory Perspective

High-throughput screening (HTS) is a proven method for discovering new lead matter for drug discovery and chemical biology. To maximize the likelihood of identifying genuine binders to a molecular target, and avoid wasting resources following up compounds with unproductive/nonspecific mechanisms of action, it is important to employ a range of assays during an HTS campaign that build confidence of target engagement for hit compounds. Biophysical methods that measure direct target/compound engagement have established themselves as key techniques in generating this confidence, and they are now integral to the latter stages of HTS triage at the European Lead Factory (ELF). One relatively new technique that the ELF is using is microscale thermophoresis (MST), which measures the differences in rate of movement through a temperature gradient that are caused when single molecular species form complexes. Here we provide an overview of the MST assay development workflow that the ELF employs and a perspective of our experience to date of using MST to triage the output of HTS campaigns and how it compares and contrasts with the use of other biophysical techniques.