Drug Screening Platform

    Relying on the Biology Institute of Shandong Academy of Sciences (ICB of SDAS), Drug Screening Platform Based on Zebrafish(DSPZ) was established to set up advanced zebrafish drug screening research system  through close cooperating with medicine school of Harvard University
    The main directions of the platform includes the screening/evaluation of active compounds, the construction of zebrafish models for human disease, and the research of mechanism of action and the innovative drug development. Currently, the platform has successfully established over 30 disease research models, such as anti-tumor angiogenesis drug screening model, angiogenesis promoting assay model, anti-thrombotic model, anti-depressant activity model and various toxicity assay models, etc.. And these models have been extensively used for drug bioactivity and toxicity screening.
    Zebrafish models have many significant advantages in drug screening, such as small, inexpensive to maintain, short test period (in a week), in vivo assay, less dosage of samples (MCG), non-invasive visualization of internal organs (transparent), high throughput screening (in 96-well cell plate) and higher screening accuracy.
    Drug discovery is the starting point and decisive step of innovative drug research. The screening of active compounds, based on the screening assay models, is the primary step of drug discovery all over the world. With the great efforts of all members, it has been becoming a unique platform which use zebrafish as the main study models. The platform persists in the application of zebrafish model, constructs and improves a variety of human disease models, establishes the screening system which integrate a set of activity or toxicity evaluating assays, creates a new mode of the combination of zebrafish screening models and traditional Chinese medicine research.
   Instruments and equipment:
    1. Laser scanning confocal microscope
    2. Flow cytometry
    3. Fluorescence stereomicroscope
    4. Microscopic operation instrument
    5. Gel electrophoresis and imaging system
    6. Full wavelength microplate reader
    7. Behavior test system (view point)
    8. Adult zebrafish ECG system
    9. Multi-function microscopic imaging workstation
    10. Frozen and normal section system
    11. Embryo microinjection system
    12. Zebrafish larvae ECG system
    Faculty and Staff of the platform:
    There are 14 faculties in our platform, including 2 professors and 7 associate professors. 12 faculties have Ph.D degree, and the rest have M.S degree. In addition, 7 graduate students and 1 doctoral student are included in the team.