title: A fluorescence-based high-throughput assay for antimicrotubule drugs.
abstract: With the advent of combinatorial chemistry and the extensive libraries of potential drugs produced from it, there is a growing need for rapid sensitive, high-throughput screening for drug potency. Microtubules are important targets for anticancer agents, and new antimicrotubule compounds are of continued interest in drug development. The in vitro potency of antimicrotubule drugs may be evaluated by measuring the extent of tubulin assembly. The extent of polymerization is proportional to the turbidity of the solution, which usually has been measured as apparent absorption. The turbidity method has inherent problems that hinder its adaptation to a high-throughput format, such as a requirement for high protein concentrations and a high coefficient of variation. We present here a high-throughput assay for antimicrotubule activity in which fluorescence is used to monitor microtubule assembly. Both assembly-inhibiting and assembly-promoting compounds can be evaluated. The assay is rapid and easy to perform, and the data are reliable, with good accuracy and reproducibility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902-6016, USA.
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Barron
authors.forename: Sabarni K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Rudravajhala
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ravindra
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roof
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baloglu
authors.forename: David G I
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kingston
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bane
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008870:Microtubules / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014404:Tubulin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D014404:Tubulin; D017239:Paclitaxel