Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
Image-Based High-Content Analysis,
Strategy for Drug Discovery
Leonardo J. Solmesky, Yonatan Adalist, and Miguel Weil
Laboratory for Personalized Medicine and Neurodegenerative Diseases,
Department of Cell Research and Immunology,
The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University,
Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel
miguelw@tauex.tau.ac.il
Image-based high content screening (HCS) is rapidly gaining
recognition as the future of drug discovery. The ability to screen vast
amounts of possible therapeutic agents in a relatively short time,
while obtaining various levels of information about each target cell's
biology, has an immense potential. Moreover, since the screening is
done using cells, it is possible to look for a broader phenotype than,
for example, when focusing on the activity of an isolated enzyme.
This allows the search for new drugs for diseases with unknown
molecular hallmarks or with multifactorial causes. The recently
achieved advances in human stem cell research have opened the way
to a new horizon in medical technology. Our ability to manipulate
these cells will allow us to change the focus of drug development from
generic to personal. Consequently, it will be possible to characterize
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