Enzyme-linked colorimetric screening of a one-bead one-compound combinatorial library.

Abstract

In the “one-bead one-compound” combinatorial library method, each bead displays only one chemical compound although there are approx 1013 copies of the same compound in and on the same bead (, , ). With an appropriate detection scheme, compound-beads with specific biological, physical, or chemical properties can be identified, and physically isolated, and then their chemical structure can be determined. In biological systems, one important property that is of interest is the binding property between a ligand and a ligate. The hgate or acceptor molecule could be an enzyme (, , ) an antibody (,,), a receptor (,), a structural protein, or even small molecules (). Furthermore, the “one-bead one-compound” library method can also be applied to the discovery of ligands that bind to the whole viral particle, bacteria, or mammalian cell by screening for compound-beads that bind to intact cells.