Fragment Libraries

Library NameNumber of CompoundsNumber of PlatesICCB-L Plate Numbers
Belfer ChemBridge Fragment 13,00093695-3703

If you have screened a library at ICCB-L that you cannot find on this list, please check the retired libraries list. 

Fragment-Based Screening and Drug Design

Fragment-based screening and drug design is a strategy that develops a high affinity lead compound by assembling or growing a number of low affinity, low molecular weight ‘fragments’ that bind to your target of interest. It is also a method to identify and validate a potentially druggable core. The method has been growing in popularity in recent years with >30 fragment-derived compounds entering clinical trials.  Identifying fragments that bind with low affinity requires sensitive detection methods. These include Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), Biolayer Interferometry (BLI) and x-ray crystallography.

Together with other HMS cores, including CMI and the East Quad NMR Core, ICCB-L supports fragment-based assay development and screening. Investigators should be aware that the follow up work to these screens will require structural studies to determine the position of the fragments and chemistry support to assemble or grow the fragments into potential lead compounds.

Relevant Publications: 

Murray CW, Rees DC. The rise of fragment-based drug discovery. Nature Chemistry 2009 Jun;1(3):187-92. 

Mashalidis EH, Sledz P, Lang S, Abell C. A three-stage biophysical screening cascade for fragment-based drug discovery. Nature Protocols 2013 Nov;8(11):2309-24

Erlanson DA, Fesik SW, Hubbard RE, Jahnke W, Jhoti H. Twenty years on: the impact of fragments on drug discovery. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 2016 Sep;15(9):605-19

Screening Techniques for Fragment-Based Drug Discovery. Innovations in Pharmaceutical Technology Issue 41, 10-13