IQ technology: an automated, high-throughput screening assay for kinase, phosphatase, and protease targets

IQ^® Technology, a homogeneous, universal-detection platform, originally designed for high-throughput screening (HTS) of kinases and phosphatases, has now been applied to protease screening. Representative enzymes from the major classes of proteases have been assayed in the IQ^® format. Enzyme activity and compound inhibition data are presented for such enzymes as Trypsin, Matrix Metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3) and Calpain 1. The technology has been tested in 96- to 384- to 1536-well microplate formats and is universally suited for automated screening. IQ^® Technology is a direct, noncompetitive assay that does not require antibodies or radioisotopes. Fluorophore-labeled peptides are used as enzyme substrates. Kinase or phosphatase activity is quantified by direct measurement of the phosphorylation state of the substrate. For protease activity, cleavage is quantified with a peptide substrate containing a phospho-residue distal to the fluorphore. Cleavage of the substrate liberates the fluorphore-labeled terminus from the terminus containing the phospho-residue. Protease activity is measured by the change in fluorescence intensity that occurs when a proprietary compound binds specifically to phosphoryl groups on peptides and quenches the fluorescence. IQ^® Technology can be used with any peptide sequence and is insensitive to high concentrations of ATP and substrate. The IQ^® Technology has been validated against a large number of detergents, organics, and other reagents found in reaction mixtures and has been optimized for HTS applications exhibiting representative Z' values of 0.7.