EATRIS-CZ can offer an access to high throughput screening and high content analysis platform – one of the largest academic installations worldwide, providing screening and high-volume biology data on a broad diversity of assays and detection systems. The described HTS platform is industry strong, modular and flexible, and allows testing in BSL3 and BSL2+ environment, screening in combination with ionizing radiation (X-rays), mass spectrometry, high content analysis and others. The screening assays provide leads for downstream drug research and development.
The HTS/HCA screening platform is based on a state-of-art robotic system provided by HighResBiosolutions Ltd. The system consists of three robotic arms, automatic incubators, liquid handlers for microliter and nanoliter volumes, sealers, de-sealers, centrifuges and readers for fluorescence, luminescence, absorbance and ionizing radiation. Also integrated with the system are wide-field or spinning disc confocal microscopes (Operetta, Yokogawa CV7000) equipped with software tools for image analysis and data evaluation. A critical part of the robotic system is the automatized chemical library, containing more than 110 000 compounds.

Support of research/drug development projects

In the field of uHTS/HCA and chemical biology/genetics, EATRIS-CZ offers cooperation in collaborative and contractual R&D projects, including tests of biological activities of small molecules.

Available tests focus on

• Cytotoxicity (non/cancer, resistant cell lines)
• Primary human normal and diseased cells
• Cell cycle analysis (fixed and live cells)
• Phenotypic screens using HCA
• Cytoskeleton modulation/integrity
• DNA, RNA, protein synthesis
• DNA damage/repair activity, screening in combination with X-ray radiation
• Protein-protein and protein-nucleic acids interactions
• G-protein coupled receptor activity (adenosine, cannabinoid and opioid receptors)
• Intracellular calcium flux assay
• cAMP production upon modulation of adenylyl cyclase activity by G-protein coupled receptors
• Mapping the most significant signaling pathways (eg. Hedgehog, Wnt, p53, KRAS, RAGE) via phosphorylation and reporter
• Assays
• Screening of demethylating agents using an in-house developed cell line
• Custom made biochemical tests
• Antimicrobial activity in G+/G- strains including drug resistant bacteria, mycobacterium strains, yeasts, filamentous fungi,
• viruses and parasites under BSL2 and BSL3 conditions
• Cellular 3D culture models (cytotoxicity, reporter studies, etc.)

Other services

Development and validation of homogenous mix-and-measure assay (384-well and 1536-well format) in tight collaboration with the users for:

• Absorbance
• Luminescence
• Fluorescence polarization
• Fluorescence intensity
• Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), ALPHA-Screen, LANCE
• Time resolved Fluorescence (TRF)
• High Content Screening
• Identification of new molecular target or new assay approach
• Validation of assay on provided by customer or commercial chemical libraries (Lopac1280, Prestwick, Enzo)
• Support in analysis of HCS data
• Custom scripts for image analysis on Columbus, Acapella, MathLab and ImageJ
• Availability of broad spectrum of reporter cell lines
• Hit and Lead profiling and preclinical development of selected drug candidates