FAQ

How do I use DrugFinder?

DrugFinder is a web-screening service for the identification of molecular leads which could lead to the development of a new drug or pharmacological tool. Users submit the structure of a protein-ligand complex to the service. These molecules will then be used to screen InhibOx's commercial molecular database (CSPACE) for compounds with complementarity to the binding site and therefore, potentially, similar activity. Information on the identified leads, including suppliers of the compounds, will then be returned to the user for further development.

The Bronze level of service is offered free of charge to academics and cancer related projects. Upto 100 probable leads will be returned to the submitter on this level of service. The silver and gold level of service are offered for a fee.

Applications for a bronze level service should be made through the web-application portal.. Applicants are required to submit the necessary input files through this portal along with a short abstract describing the project. Users interested in the Silver or Gold levels of service should make contact through the email link on the Contact Us page

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What is the difference between the bronze, silver and gold levels of service?

The Bronze level of service is offered free of charge. Use of the other two service levels will incur a fee. A Bronze level screening will return up to 100 potential leads.

The Silver level of service provides a greatly expanded version of the bronze. A larger number of hits (up to 1000) are returned from the search of a larger database of compounds. A pharmacophore search is also offered as an option for Silver service users.

The Gold service is fully customized to the needs of the user.  The full range of InhibOx tools, hardware and expertise can be made available for users of this service.

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How much do the Bronze. Silver and Gold services cost?

The Bronze level of service of free of charge to academics. A charge of £5000 will be made for the Silver service. The Gold service is a customized service and the fee will therefore depend on the nature of the project.

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What software is used to perform the virtual screening?

All the tools listed on the software page are available for use on the DrugFinder service, as described on the software page and in the workflow diagram, dependent on service level. All the shape-based filtering and docking tools used in DrugFinder are the results of internal software development at InhibOx over a number of years.

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What do DOx and DOx^Light do?

Please see the software description pages for DOx and DOx^Light.

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What does FOx do?

Please see the software description page for FOx.

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What does ROx do?

Please see the software description page for ROx.

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How long will a virtual screening take?

Although the resources available to DrugFinder are significant, the maximum throughput of projects is finite and no individual submission can be guaranteed to be turned around in a specific time.  The user will be notified if there are significant wait time or, in rare occasions if a submission cannot be undertaken.

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How will I get my results back?

Results are returned in an Excel file format, and also in an SDF format to facilitate, for those users with cheminformatics capabilities, to further process the results.

Who owns the intellectual property produced by DrugFinder?

The Intellectual property produced by DrugFinder belongs to the User submitting the project.  Please see the Confidentiality page for more details.