The Queensland Compound Library - Facilitating biomedical research in the Australasian region

Abstract

Accessing compound libraries to facilitate biomedical research in the Australasian region

Moana Simpson1, Jonathan Baell2, Ian Street2 and David Camp1*

1Queensland Compound Library Eskitis Institute, Griffith University Nathan QLD 4111

2Cancer Therapeutics CRC Pty Ltd 4 Research Avenue Bundoora VIC 3083

The completion of the Human Genome Project has provided an abundance of new targets for biological evaluation. Small organic molecules (compounds with a molecular weight < 500 Daltons) can be used as probes and leads to provide biological and therapeutic insights respectively. They are complementary to nucleic acid-based tools in that they target the gene product, typically a protein, rather than the gene or mRNA; have virtually limitless structural diversity; can act as agonists or antagonists and exquisitely affect a particular target for defined periods of time.[1]

Unfortunately, it remains difficult to predict exactly which small molecules would be the most effective at modulating a given biological process or disease state. The medium- to high-throughput screening of novel and diverse compound libraries is being used increasingly more often to help overcome this limitation.

The Queensland Compound Library (QCL) was recently established as a national small molecule repository to give biomedical researchers in the Australasian region the same opportunity to screen their targets against a range of novel and known compounds as is already the case in Europe and North America.[2]

The Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTx) is one example of an organisation that has utilised the QCL's expertise in compound management to facilitate its goal of drug discovery against a range of cancer-related targets.

1. Austin CP, Brady LS, Insel TR, Collins FS: NIH Molecular Libraries Initiative. Science 2004, 306:1138-1139. 2. Camp D, Avery V, Street I, Quinn RJ: Progress toward establishing an open access molecular screening capability in the Australasian region. ACS Chem Biol 2007, 2:764-767.