General Procedure for Assay Transfer

Projects applying for service provide a short description about the biological background of the project, a detailed description of experimental set up and controls required (send to: screening(at)fmp-berlin.de). The most effective procedure for assay set up starts with a visit of scientists of the applying project at the screening unit for assay transfer (3-10 days). This visit allows validation of the equipment provided by the unit through the users of the platform. After transfer of the assay the costs for support by the staff of the unit are dependent on the individual kind of collaboration or service wanted. The IP-rights remain completely to the user of the service. The user has to feed his screening data into the central database of the ChemBioNet. The data are released after publication or protection by patents through the user and with the permission of the user. Only in case of direct commerzialization through academic spin off companies, the general rule of feeding screening data to the ChemBioNet-database after publication is delayed and regulated by additional contracts.

Technologies Supported

The open screening platform of the ChemBioNet supports a broad spectrum of technologies. Starting with absorbance scans, fluorescence intensity measurements, fluorescence polarization, FRET & BRET and luminescence based assays. Furthermore electrophoretic mobility shift assays and High Content Screening with automated microscopes and an automated object recognition for translation of object parameters into multiparameter tables for effective analysis of imaging data is provided. All kind of assays are set up with liquid handling automates in the 384well format in 10 to 40 µl volumes (also cell culture) to minimize costs for reagents. The Screening Unit supported more than 40 projects since 2004. Projects supported are academic cooperations with the University of Oxford, the Vanderbuilt University (Nashville, Tennesse), the University of California (San Francisco), the EMBL and ZMNH (Hamburg), and several Max-Planck-Institutes (München, Dortmund, Dresden).