Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Drug Discovery: Overview

Drug Discovery: Overview

Drug discovery is a multifaceted process involving extensive screening, testing, and optimization of lead compounds to identify potential new drugs for therapeutic use. It combines several approaches, including screening large numbers of natural products, chemical modification of known active molecules, identification of new drug targets, and rational design based on biological mechanisms and drug-receptor structure. These approaches are carried out in both academic research laboratories and...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

From dual norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibition to selective dopamine reuptake inhibitors: a case of aromatically substituted <i>N</i>,2-cyclopentylamines.

RSC medicinal chemistry·2026

Same author

Automated Parallel Synthesis Accelerates Virtual Screening Hit Discovery.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Finding novel vulnerabilities of hypomorphic BRCA1 alleles.

Molecular oncology·2026

Same author

Artificial Intelligence for Regulatory Evidence: A Systematic Document Analysis of European Medicines Agency Regulatory Advice and Public Reports.

Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics·2026

Same author

A Structure-Based Platform for Predicting Chemical-Induced Parkinson's Disease.

Chemical research in toxicology·2026

Same author

Massive barcode-free chemical screenings enable the discovery of bioactive macrocycles with passive membrane permeability.

Nature communications·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 14, 2026

Nano-Differential Scanning Fluorimetry for Screening in Fragment-based Lead Discovery

Nano-Differential Scanning Fluorimetry for Screening in Fragment-based Lead Discovery

Published on: May 16, 2021

Barcode-free hit discovery from massive libraries enabled by automated small molecule structure annotation.

Edith van der Nol^1,2, Nils Alexander Haupt³, Qing Qing Gao¹

¹LACDR, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Nature Communications

|October 28, 2025

Summary

A new self-encoded library (SEL) platform allows screening of millions of molecules without DNA tags. This drug discovery tool identifies potent binders for challenging targets like FEN1, advancing early-stage research.

More Related Videos

Biosensor-based High Throughput Biopanning and Bioinformatics Analysis Strategy for the Global Validation of Drug-protein Interactions

Biosensor-based High Throughput Biopanning and Bioinformatics Analysis Strategy for the Global Validation of Drug-protein Interactions

Published on: December 1, 2020

NMR-Based Fragment Screening in a Minimum Sample but Maximum Automation Mode

NMR-Based Fragment Screening in a Minimum Sample but Maximum Automation Mode

Published on: June 4, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 14, 2026

Nano-Differential Scanning Fluorimetry for Screening in Fragment-based Lead Discovery

Nano-Differential Scanning Fluorimetry for Screening in Fragment-based Lead Discovery

Published on: May 16, 2021

Biosensor-based High Throughput Biopanning and Bioinformatics Analysis Strategy for the Global Validation of Drug-protein Interactions

Biosensor-based High Throughput Biopanning and Bioinformatics Analysis Strategy for the Global Validation of Drug-protein Interactions

Published on: December 1, 2020

NMR-Based Fragment Screening in a Minimum Sample but Maximum Automation Mode

NMR-Based Fragment Screening in a Minimum Sample but Maximum Automation Mode

Published on: June 4, 2021

Area of Science:

Medicinal Chemistry
Biochemistry
Drug Discovery Technology

Background:

Affinity-selection platforms are crucial for early drug discovery.
Current DNA-encoded libraries (DELs) face limitations in synthesis and target compatibility.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a novel barcode-free self-encoded library (SEL) platform for high-throughput screening.
To overcome the limitations of existing technologies, particularly for nucleic acid-binding targets.

Main Methods:

Development of SELs enabling direct screening of over 500,000 small molecules.
Integration of tandem mass spectrometry with custom software for automated structure annotation.
Establishment of efficient, high-diversity synthesis protocols for diverse chemical scaffolds.

Main Results:

Successful affinity selection screening against carbonic anhydrase IX, identifying multiple nanomolar binders.
Discovery of potent inhibitors for flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), a DNA-processing enzyme.
Demonstration of SELs' capability to screen large libraries in a single experiment.

Conclusions:

The SEL platform offers a powerful, tag-free alternative for screening large chemical libraries.
This technology expands drug discovery capabilities to novel target classes, including DNA-processing enzymes.
SELs represent a significant advancement for both academic and industrial early drug discovery efforts.