The use of biochemical and biophysical tools for triage of high-throughput screening hits - A case study with Escherichia coli phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase.

High-throughput screening is utilized by pharmaceutical researchers and, increasingly, academic investigators to identify agents that act upon enzymes, receptors, and cellular processes. Screening hits include molecules that specifically bind the target and a greater number of non-specific compounds. It is necessary to 'triage' these hits to identify the subset worthy of further exploration.