The major functions of this laboratory under Thomas McCloud are related to the preparation of extracts from natural product sources (marine invertebrates, plants and microbes) with the aim of producing materials for use in cancer related studies both in intramural and extramural laboratories and locations., The materials are subsequently ?plated? in 96 and 384 well plates, and the production of solubilized materials, both extracts and synthetic compounds for subsequent 60 cell line cancer cell assays and other, usually molecular target assays of interest to the DTP in support of cancer drug development. In addition, the laboratory performs a ?dereplication? function for hits from various anti-cancer assays, thus enabling a decision to be rapidly made concerning continuation of work on a particular ?hit?. As a result of the dereplication effort, significant numbers of ?fraction plates? have been amassed thus permitting relatively easy access to prefractionated samples if the same or similar extracts ?hit? in a different assay related to cancer. The laboratory also is utilized for rapid Quality Control and identification work on potential anticancer agents from a variety of sources of interest to the Developmental Therapeutics Program as part of cancer drug discovery and development. There is also the capability to isolate and purify small molecules of interest from a variety of sources and to perform some structure activity work via semisynthesis when/where necessary. In addition with the in vivo assays related to crude extracts, as these results come in, the laboratory will be performing initial chemical assessments on the hits. As the Chemical Biology Consortium initiative ramps up, this laboratory will become the focal point for a number of initial steps in that process;viz extract preparation and plate production, initial dereplication and in certain cases identification of lead compounds from a variety of assays.
