Compound screening method and apparatus

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A compound screening apparatus (160) divides measurement data representing the amount of binding between one kind of protein and each of a plurality of kinds of compounds, obtained by a measurement apparatus (110), into groups, each including data obtained in a same measurement condition. The compound screening apparatus (160) obtains a representative value of measurement data that is obtained when the protein and a compound are not bound to each other for each of the groups by using the measurement data of the respective groups, and sets a threshold value for extracting a hit compound for each of the groups by using corrected measurement data, obtained by correcting the measurement data for each of the groups so that the representative value obtained for each of the groups becomes the same value. Then, a hit compound is extracted by comparing the threshold value with the corrected measurement data.

Technical Field The present invention relates to a compound screening method and apparatus. Particularly, the present invention relates to a compound screeningmethod and apparatus for extracting a hit compound, which binds to one kind of protein, from a plurality of kinds of compounds. In the compound screening method and apparatus, the hit compound is extracted based on measurement data representing the amount of binding between the one kind of protein and each of the plurality of kinds of compounds.

Background Art Generally, many kinds of compounds included in medicines achieve their effects and functions by chemically binding to protein in living bodies. Therefore, in development of a medicine, it is important to know whether a candidate compound for the medicine binds to protein. Ideally, a compound included in the medicine should be bindable only to a protein of interest, and it should not be bindable to the other proteins . That is because if the compound is also bindable to proteins other than the protein of interest, so-called adverse side-effects may occur. Therefore, in development of a medicine, screening is performed to extract a compound that is bindable only to a protein of interest from candidate compounds for the medicine.

Various kinds of apparatuses have been proposed to perform screening on candidate compounds for medicines. For example, a measurement apparatus is well known . The measurement apparatus is an apparatus utilizing a phenomenon that when a surface plasmon is generated by total reflection of a light beam at the surface of a metal, an attenuated total-reflection angle changes based on a dielectric constant at the vicinity of the surface of .the metal . The attenuated total-reflection angle is a specific reflection angle at which sharp attenuation (attenuated total reflection) of the intensity of light occurs in the totally-reflected light beam. Further, a similar measurement apparatus, for example, such as a leakage-mode measurement apparatus, which utilizes the attenuated total reflection, is also well known.

As the apparatus using the principle of surface plasmon, "BIACORE3000", manufacturedby Biacore KK, or the like is well known, for example (please refer to "Real-Time Analysis Experiment Method of Interactions of Living-Body Substances", Kazuhiro Nagata and Hiroshi Handa, published by Springer-Verlag Tokyo) .

As a technique for performing compound screening by using the aforementioned apparatus, a technique for extracting a hit compound, which binds to one kind of protein, is being considered. In the technique, measurement data representing the amount of binding between the one kind of protein and each of a multiplicity of kinds of compounds, for example 10000 kinds of compounds, is obtained. Then, a hit compound is extracted, based on the measurement data, from the 10000 kinds of compounds. In this technique, the hit compound is extracted based on a statistical processing result of 10000 kinds of measurement data obtained by measuring the amount of binding between the one kind of protein and each of the 10000 kinds of compounds. Specifically, for example, a threshold value for extracting the hit compound is set based on an average value of the values 'of the 10000 kinds of measurement data and the standard deviation of the values of the 10000 kinds of measurement data. Then, a compound corresponding to measurement data of which the value exceeds the threshold value is extracted as the hit compound. Generally, in compound screening as described above, approximately 1% of screened compounds, namely 100 kinds of compounds out of 10000 kinds of compounds, are hit compounds. It needs two or three days or even longer period to perform screening on so many kinds of compounds . However, if the measurement data that has been obtained as described above is widely dispersed, a compound that binds to a protein, but of which the amount of binding to the protein is small because of its low reaction speed or the like, is not detected in the dispersed data. Hence, such a compound is not extracted as a hit compound in some cases. Specifically, if the measurement data is widely dispersed, the value of measurement data obtained by using such a low-reaction compound becomes less than or equal to a threshold value for judging a hit compound in some cases. In such cases, the result of screening obtained by spending a plenty of time and expense is not sufficiently utilized. Hence, there are requests for more accurate screening of compounds to identify hit compounds .

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the foregoing circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compound screening method and a compound screening apparatus that can improve the reliability of screening.