Services

The ACTD operates on a ‘user-assisted’ basis, where the researcher will perform their screen or experiment with the assistance of the ACTD staff. The ACTD will also offer the following services to researchers:

• Consultation about screen design and assay workflows
• Designing custom screening solutions and packages
• Assistance with grant applications (relating to screening aims)
• Enabling access to biological/chemical libraries for screening
• Equipment training and inductions
• General screening consumables and reagents
• Boutique applications and pilot experiments using automation

Libraries

The screening library requirements of researchers are quite diverse - these include biological and chemical agents. Because of the diversity of requirements, it is not cost effective to order in and stock many different libraries. Therefore, we consult with individual clients about their specific requirements. We utilise the services of Compounds Australia, who provide access to a number of open source compound libraries that are available for screening.

The types of drug/compound libraries that are available from Compounds Australia include, but are not limited to:

• “Australian Chemome” – encompassing Naturebank and other nature product collections (access via Griffith University)
• Open Drug Library (FDA-approved compound library from Microsource)
• Epigenetic modifying agents (Selleck)
• Kinase Inhibitors (Selleck)
• Open Scaffold Library (a broad collection of novelty and lead-like scaffolds or chemotypes that have been selected by medicinal chemists)
• Open Academic Library (a collection of compounds deposited by academic members of Compounds Australia)
• Compounds ANU - a collection of structurally unique molecules synthesised by researchers at the Research School of Chemistry, ANU (click here for more details)

For screeners that are interested in performing loss of function screens (e.g. RNAi, CRISPR), we have the Dharmacon siGENOME SMARTpool human siRNA library (genome-wide), and the Horizon Discovery human genome-wide EditR CRISPR knockout library (genome-wide). The ACTD can also enable the purchase of boutique RNAi/CRISPR/drug libraries from commercial sources depending on the specific requirement of the user.

For any enquiries (including access to screening compounds and purchasing through Compounds Australia), please contact us for more information.