Advances of droplet-based microfluidics in drug discovery.
Expert Opin Drug Discov
; 15(8): 969-979, 2020 08.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32352844
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Drug discovery through a large number of candidates with nearly unlimited possibilities is laborious, time-consuming, and incurs massive costs. It thus calls for fast and robust methods that allow for handling small amounts of reagents, automation, and high-throughput analysis. In this regard, droplet-based microfluidic platforms provide several unique advantages. Highly monodispersed droplets can be generated in a high frequency and serve as microcontainers with just a few femtoliter to nanoliter volume. Furthermore, each of them can be manipulated to initiate specific reactions in parallel. Consequently, droplet microfluidics is emerging as a useful tool for drug discovery and development. AREAS COVERED The authors provide a brief overview of the latest developments of droplet-based microfluidic techniques for drug discovery and emphasize their applications at different stages, covering target selection, drug candidate identification, and preclinical research. EXPERT OPINION Droplet-based microfluidics holds great potential in drug discovery due to its capability of reaction miniaturization and high-throughput analysis. However, its commercial applications are still at an early stage as the experiments are mostly implemented utilizing custom-built instruments in laboratory environments. Thus, joint efforts from scientists and engineers with multidisciplinary backgrounds are required to optimize the standardization and stability of droplet-based microfluidic platforms.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Técnicas Analíticas Microfluídicas
/
Descoberta de Drogas
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Ensaios de Triagem em Larga Escala
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Expert Opin Drug Discov
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China