August 10, 2015 – Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have invented an automated droplet-based sampling probe system that scientists at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro are using for quick identification of bioactive compounds in fungi. As more medicines are identified from natural sources, screening processes become vital to the rapid discovery of new drug leads. ORNL researchers Vilmos Kertesz and Gary Van Berkel helped their university collaborators seamlessly integrate ORNL’s novel sampling technology to map unique patterns of secondary fungal metabolites in situ for addition to a library of more than 300 biological compounds. ORNL’s sampling probe system takes months off of UNCG’s traditional protocol. “The robustness and simplicity of the droplet-based sampling probe system makes it a powerful and effective tool for natural products research,” Kertesz said. – written by Ashanti B. Washington
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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