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Choose and Use Your Chemical Probe Wisely to Explore Cancer Biology

Julian Blagg1, Paul Workman1

  • 1Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.

Cancer Cell
|July 12, 2017
PubMed

Insights

High-quality chemical probes are vital for biological research and drug discovery. However, poor-quality probes are misused, polluting scientific literature. Biologists must be more selective when choosing chemical tools.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Small-molecule chemical probes are increasingly used in biological research and drug discovery.
  • These tools are valuable for investigating disease mechanisms, including cancer, and for target validation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To discuss challenges associated with the selection and use of chemical probes.
  • To encourage biologists to be more discerning in their choice of chemical tools.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and critical analysis of current practices in chemical probe utilization.
  • Discussion of the impact of poor-quality probes on scientific literature and research integrity.

Main Results:

  • Widespread misuse and promulgation of low-quality, insufficiently selective chemical probes are prevalent.
  • This misuse contributes to a misleading pollution of the scientific literature.

Conclusions:

  • There is a critical need for improved standards and greater discrimination in the selection and application of chemical probes.
  • Biologists should adopt more rigorous criteria to ensure the quality and selectivity of chemical tools used in research.
Keywords:
PAINSPan-Assay Interference Compoundsbiochemical selectivitychemical probechemical reactivitychemical toolligand promiscuitylipophilicitypharmacological audit trailpharmacophore crossingtarget validation

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