This comprehensive and useful handbook represents a definitive up-to-date compendium of key in vitro bioassay methods that are employed to quantify and validate the anticancer activity of a drug candidate before it makes its way in to animal or clinical trials. In Vitro Bioassay Techniques for Anticancer Drug Discovery and Development covers the screening and evaluation of potential drug candidates in a wide category of anticancer assays demonstrating the specific ways in which various pharmaceutical bioassays interpret the activity of drug molecules. The major emphasis of the book is to present those bioassays which can be readily set up and practiced in any laboratory with limited funds, facilities or technical know-how.

The goal of an activity-directed isolation process is to isolate bioactive compounds which may provide structural leads of therapeutic importance. Whereas the traditional process of drug development is long and expensive, simple and rapid bioassays can serve as the starting point for drug discovery. This book presents a range of "bench top" bioassa

This comprehensive and useful handbook represents a definitive up-to-date compendium of key in vitro bioassay methods that are employed to quantify and validate the anticancer activity of a drug candidate before it makes its way in to animal or clinical trials. In Vitro Bioassay Techniques for Anticancer Drug Discovery and Development covers the screening and evaluation of potential drug candidates in a wide category of anticancer assays demonstrating the specific ways in which various pharmaceutical bioassays interpret the activity of drug molecules. The major emphasis of the book is to present those bioassays which can be readily set up and practiced in any laboratory with limited funds, facilities or technical know-how.

This unique volume traces the critically important pathway by which a "molecule" becomes an "anticancer agent. " The recognition following World War I that the administration of toxic chemicals such as nitrogen mustards in a controlled manner could shrink malignant tumor masses for relatively substantial periods of time gave great impetus to the search for molecules that would be lethal to specific cancer cells. Weare still actively engaged in that search today. The question is how to discover these "anticancer" molecules. Anticancer Drug Development Guide: Preclinical Screening, Clinical Trials, and Approval, Second Edition describes the evolution to the present of preclinical screening methods. The National Cancer Institute's high-throughput, in vitro disease-specific screen with 60 or more human tumor cell lines is used to search for molecules with novel mechanisms of action or activity against specific phenotypes. The Human Tumor Colony-Forming Assay (HTCA) uses fresh tumor biopsies as sources of cells that more nearly resemble the human disease. There is no doubt that the greatest successes of traditional chemotherapy have been in the leukemias and lymphomas. Since the earliest widely used in vivo drug screening models were the murine L 1210 and P388 leukemias, the community came to assume that these murine tumor models were appropriate to the discovery of "antileukemia" agents, but that other tumor models would be needed to discover drugs active against solid tumors.

Bioassay Methods in Natural Product Research and Drug Development contains the proceedings from the Phytochemical Society of Europe's very successful symposium on this topic, held August 24-27, 1997 in Uppsala, Sweden. In this volume, leading academic and industrial scientists discuss novel methods for assaying natural products to find new structure-activity relationships. Of key importance in this process is the availability and reliability of specific bioassay methods, but chapters also discuss chemical and biological diversity and how to dereplicate natural product extracts to increase efficiency in lead discovery. Anti-tumor, HIV-inhibitory, antiprotozoal, anti-infective and immunomodulatory natural products are discussed. Various industrial projects are presented for the first time. This volume bridges the gap between academic and industrial research and scientists, and should be required reading in drug companies and faculties of pharmacy, as well as serving scientists in pharmacognosy, pharmacology, phytochemistry, natural products and drug discovery.

Malaria is making a dramatic comeback in the world. The disease is the foremost health challenge in Africa south of the Sahara, and people traveling to malarious areas are at increased risk of malaria-related sickness and death. This book examines the prospects for bringing malaria under control, with specific recommendations for U.S. policy, directions for research and program funding, and appropriate roles for federal and international agencies and the medical and public health communities. The volume reports on the current status of malaria research, prevention, and control efforts worldwide. The authors present study results and commentary on the: Nature, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and epidemiology of malaria. Biology of the malaria parasite and its vector. Prospects for developing malaria vaccines and improved treatments. Economic, social, and behavioral factors in malaria control.

This new series, Methods in Plant Biochemistry, is an authoritative reference on current techniques in the various fields of plant biochemical research. Each volume in the series, under the expert guidance of a guest editor, addresses a particular group of plant compounds.**The most current and useful methods of analysis are described, with detailed discussions of the development, protocols, and suitability of each technique. Case treatments, diagrams, chemical structures, reference data, and properties are featured where appropriate, along with a full list of references to the specialist literature.**Conceived as a practical companion to the Biochemistry of Plants, edited by P.K. Stumpf and E.E. Conn, no plant biochemical laboratory can afford to be without this comprehensive and up-to-date reference. Addresses the laboratory analysis of all major plant compounds**Illustrates authoritative and detailed practical instructions and recipes for analytical methods**Describes assays suitable for showing biological or pharmacological properties in crude plant extracts