Skip to Content
MilliporeSigma
HomeApplicationsChemistry & SynthesisLead Discovery

Lead Discovery

A collection of laboratory vials and a storage box. The image features a red box partially open, surrounded by several clear vials with black caps, a tray of vials, and a separate container holding multiple vials in a grid pattern. The items are arranged on a white background.

Once a target protein implicated in a disease has been identified and validated, compound screening is performed to determine how small molecules interact with that specific target protein, by either activating or inhibiting it, for lead identification in drug discovery.

Featured Categories

Three colored squares displaying chemical structures and names. The yellow square features the structure of Furan, the turquoise square shows Thiophene with the letter "S," and the purple square displays the structure of Purine. Each square has the corresponding name prominently displayed.
Heterocyclic Building Blocks

We’re proud to offer a comprehensive portfolio of heterocyclic building blocks, one of the largest and most diverse families of molecular fragments used in organic synthesis.

Shop Products
Three colored squares displaying chemical structures and names. The yellow square features the structure of Furan, the turquoise square shows Thiophene with the letter "S," and the purple square displays the structure of Purine. Each square has the corresponding name prominently displayed.
Organic Building Blocks

Find the basic components needed to drive your research forward in our portfolio of organic building blocks. Alkenesm alkanes, alkynes, arenes, allenes & more!

Shop Products
A 3D molecular structure illustration on a yellow background. The model shows a ring structure with gray spheres representing carbon atoms, connected by white bonds. Various colored spheres represent different atoms: a red sphere (possibly oxygen), a green sphere, and a blue sphere. The arrangement highlights the molecular connectivity and geometry.
Halogenated Heterocycles

Shop our diverse portfolio of halogenated heterocycles for use in a vast array of synthetic protocols, including lithiation and palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling methodologies.

Shop Products
Three chemical structures are depicted on colored geometric backgrounds. On the left, a blue hexagon features “2-Bromo-4-fluoropyridine,” with its corresponding molecular structure showing a pyridine ring with bromine (Br) and fluorine (F) substituents. In the center, a yellow square displays “2,2-Difluoroethylamine,” alongside its molecular formula NH2CHF2. On the right, a purple pentagon presents “1,1,1-Trifluoro-3-methyl-2-butene-1-ol,” with its molecular structure illustrating multiple fluorine (F) atoms and an alcohol group (OH) attached to a branched carbon chain.
Fluorinated Building Blocks

With a vast offering of fluorinated building blocks, such as trifluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, triflate, and pentafluorosulfanyl substituents for your toolkit, we make it even easier to discover your target compounds.

Shop Products

To accelerate lead discovery, and thereby the rate of drug discovery, rapid and efficient screening technologies are essential. High-throughput screening (HTS) leverages automation and robotics for the quick analysis of large chemical compound libraries to ultimately detect compounds most suitable to pursue as drug candidates. DNA-encoded library (DEL) screening allows for mass conjugation of small molecule chemical compounds to short DNA fragments, so that a greater number of molecules can be examined for the desired activity and function simultaneously. In structure-based drug design screening, 3D structures of compounds are predicted using in silico techniques where entire libraries are docked into binding sites and the steric and electrostatic affinity between the compounds and target protein are evaluated. The highest-ranked compounds then progress to biological testing.

Hit-to-lead (H2L) research evaluates the pharmacodynamic, physiochemical, and pharmacokinetic properties of hits to identify lead compounds for lead optimization and further analysis as potential candidates for drug development.

Document Search
Looking for More Specific Information?

Visit our document search for data sheets, certificates and technical documentation.

Find Documents
Shop All Lead Discovery Products
    Featured Articles
    Fragment-Based DNA-Encoded Library
    Unprecedented access to large library drug discovery, Dynamic Library technology offers more reliable results than classical DEL approaches, library members selected for MedChem relevance, high chemical diversity, suitable for a number of targets
    Isotopically Labeled Steroid Standards
    We offer a wide variety of labeled bioactive compounds including steroids, vitamins, and their metabolites.
    Screening Compounds: MyriaScreen Diversity Collection
    MyriaScreen Diversity Collection of drug-like screening compounds
    Sign In To Continue

    To continue reading please sign in or create an account.

    Don't Have An Account?