High-Throughput Affinity-Based Technologies for Small-Molecule Drug Discovery

High-throughput affinity-based technologies are rapidly growing in use as primary screening methods in drug discovery. In this review, their principles and applications are described and their impact on small-molecule drug discovery is evaluated. In general, these technologies can be divided into 2 groups: those that detect binding interactions by measuring changes to the protein target and those that detect bound compounds. Technologies detecting binding interactions by focusing on the protein have limited throughput but can reveal mechanistic information about the binding interaction; technologies detecting bound compounds have very high throughput, some even significantly higher than current high-throughput screening technologies, but offer limited information about the binding interaction. In addition, the appropriate use of affinity-based technologies is discussed. Finally, nanotechnology is predicted to generate a significant impact on the future of affinity-based technologies.