Development of a Platform to Enable Fully Automated Cross-Titration Experiments.

In the triage of hits from a high-throughput screening campaign or during the optimization of a lead compound, it is relatively routine to test compounds at multiple concentrations to determine potency and maximal effect. Additional follow-up experiments, such as agonist shift, can be quite valuable in ascertaining compound mechanism of action (MOA). However, these experiments require cross-titration of a test compound with the activating ligand of the receptor requiring 100-200 data points, severely limiting the number tested in MOA assays in a screening triage.

Non-invasive muscle contraction assay to study rodent models of sarcopenia.

Background: Age-related sarcopenia is a disease state of loss of muscle mass and strength that affects physical function and mobility leading to falls, fractures, and disability. The need for therapies to treat age-related sarcopenia has attracted intensive preclinical research. To facilitate the discovery of these therapies, we have developed a non-invasive rat muscle functional assay system to efficiently measure muscle force and evaluate the efficacy of drug candidates.

A synchronized emissive probe for time-resolved plasma potential measurements of pulsed discharges.

A pulsed emissive probe technique is presented for measuring the plasma potential of pulsed plasma discharges. The technique provides time-resolved data and features minimal disturbance of the plasma achieved by alternating probe heating with the generation of plasma. Time resolution of about 20 ns is demonstrated for high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) plasma of niobium in argon.