Compound Curation FAQ

What amount of compound should be submitted to the collection?

We store compounds at -30 °C as 20 mM DMSO stock in 4 mL, conical-bottom vials. Ideally, we would like you to submit between 5-25 mg to the collection. This amount will last a very long time, cover hundreds of screens, and support follow-on biological assays when hits are discovered.

I have less than 5 mg – Can I still submit compounds?

Yes. In general, due to the minimum stock volumes required for large platings, QC, and general manipulation, the less compound you submit, the less we are able to do with it.

Please see the chart below for guidelines on amounts of compounds that can be accepted and what will happen to them after submission, based on molecular weight:

curationFAQ

We will accept almost any amount of compound for distribution to specified collaborators, but please be aware that according to the chart above, low-volume compounds will not make it into the larger screening distributions. These stocks will remain in storage until specifically requested for distribution by you or your PI.

What is the “Supplementary Collection” (or “curation separate from the CMLD collection”)?

The Supplementary Collection is where we keep compounds which require special handling. These may be DMSO-incompatible, light sensitive, under IP restrictions, or available in such small quantities that a 10 mM or 5 mM stock volume is required to accurately dispense. We are happy to curate these types of compounds for you in the Supplementary Collection, but please be aware that Supplementary Collection compounds are never included in full collection screening distributions. These compounds will only go out to biological collaborators when specifically requested by you or your PI.

Are there any types of compounds you do not want?

The following compounds can be problematic for us:

  • Compounds that are water-reactive (acid chlorides, anhydrides, etc.) – these will not be accepted.
  • Compounds that have a LogP higher than 6.0 – these are discouraged, and may or may not be accepted on a case-by-case basis
  • Compounds that are known to be or suspected to be explosive, corrosive, flammable, or volatile – these will not be accepted
  • Compounds that are already present in the collection – these may or may not be accepted, depending on amounts available.
  • Compounds that are not stable in DMSO – these can be stored as dry powder or alternate solvents in our Supplementary Collection, and can be distributed to specific biological collaborators upon request, but will not go out in the master collection screening distributions.
  • Compounds that are not soluble in DMSO at 20 mM – these can be stored as dry powder or alternate solvents in our Supplementary Collection, and can be distributed to specific biological collaborators upon request, but will not go out in the master collection screening distributions. Ideally, compounds should be soluble in methanol, ethanol, aceonitrile or acetone as an alternative.

I have a diastereomeric mixture. Can I submit it?

The minimum purity for submission to our collection is 90% pure by UPLC-MS-ELSD. This also applies to diastereomeric purity as well. Only samples with a d.r. >9:1 can be accepted to the collection.