We called our SydLab System a high-content screening technology many times, but what does it mean exactly? Today we will walk through the concepts of high-content screening (HCT), high-throughput screening (HTS) and their role in drug development.
HSC? HTS? Let’s clarify
High-content screening is a method used in biological research and drug development where substances altering the phenotype of cells are identified throughout multiple in parallel readouts of different parameters.
But then, what is high-throughput screening? In fact, HCT and HTS are closely related. High-throughput screening is a method primarily used for drug development where robotics, data processing software, detectors and liquid-handling technology allows to run at a high speed multiple chemical, genetic and pharmacological tests of thousands of compounds. While high-content screening also involves the use of automated microscopy and image analysis software, both are crucial technologies involved in drug design processes and early toxicology testing.
High-content screening: The story of a process
Typically, a high-content screening process follows the following path: