Chemical Compound Libraries

Incorporating over 1.4 million high-quality and actively curated compounds, we have a broad collection of compound screening libraries, designed to support diverse research objectives, across a range of target classes and therapeutic areas.

Our compound libraries can be screened in-house using our comprehensive range of technologies, or delivered to you as assay-ready plates. Depending on your budget and requirements, libraries can be screened in their entirety, or our experienced team of computational chemists can assist in designing a tailored set matched to your objectives.

Library quality is critical to the success of any screening campaign. Our expert compound management team constantly performs quality control on our libraries, both in the output phase of any screen and through a rigorous schedule of randomized sampling, ensuring you have the best starting-point molecules in your screens. Our compound screening team brings together decades of experience in curation, design, and compound management. With knowledge gained over thousands of screens, our scientists know exactly how to get the best results from your campaign.

Meaningful Hits, Faster Development

Our small molecule libraries can enhance the speed and ultimate success of your drug discovery program. Our in-house experts have assembled and continually curate a compound library collection with significant structural diversity and overall lead-like properties to ensure resulting hits are worth investigating. Through an integrated approach to drug discovery, our team can help you move quickly and seamlessly from hit identification through lead selection, optimization, and beyond.

Design your screen

Compound Library Sets for High-Throughput Screening (HTS)

Each compound library may be screened individually or in combination with other screening libraries, allowing a tailored approach to Hit Identification and the greatest coverage of chemical space, maximizing your chance of finding hits that align with your target product profile.

Download our free compound library guide to learn more about our collections, compound management, and curation, or browse our collections below.

Download library guide

  • Diversity Compound Library
    • ~519 k compounds, designed for diversity across broad chemical space
    • Suitable for prosecuting a broad spectrum of targets
    • ~90% rule-of-five compliant
  • Aspire Diversity Library
    • ~528 k compounds
    • An expansion to the Diversity collection, with similar curation properties
    • Available pre-pooled for rapid access to SAMDI ASMS screening
  • Lead-Like Compound Library
    • ~138 k compounds
    • Designed to maximize lead-like properties and maintain diversity profile
    • Structural alert-free to ensure known problem chemotypes are excluded
  • Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) Neuroscience Small Molecule Library
    • Neuroscience-focused library of ~158 k compounds
    • Curated based on CNS lead-like properties
    • Low overlap with other CRL screening libraries
    • Enables interrogation of targets to drive the development of new, disease-modifying neuroscience therapies
  • SoftFocus® Library
    • Exclusive library of ~16 k compounds designed around major target families
      • Kinase: Hinge-binding, DFG-out, novel modes
      • Epigenetics: HMT, bromodomain, demethylase
      • Protein-Protein interactions: Secondary structure mimetics, target family focused, ubiquitin proteasome
      • Other libraries including: Ion channel, GPCR, protease
  • SmartScreen Library
    • ~18.3 k semi-exclusive non-vendor compounds
    • Structural alert-free, and lead-like properties
    • Original library designs driven by protein binding pocket information, scaffold hopping, and novel chemistry
    • Adds more than 10,000 Bemis-Murcko scaffolds to existing screening libraries
  • Analyticon (Nature Product Inspired) Library
    • ~25 k compounds from the Analyticon libraries available to screen as one set:
      • NATx: 20,000 synthetic compounds based on >100 chemotypes and inspired by natural product motifs
      • MACROx: 1,500 macrocyclic compounds from 9 scaffolds
      • MEGx: 3,500 pure plant and microbial natural products
  • Repurposing / Annotated Libraries
    • ~4.8 k compounds
    • Specs Repurposing Library: A semi-exclusive library inspired by the Drug Repurposing Hub (Broad Institute) Nature Medicine 217, 23, 405 (around 11% overlap with Prestwick and SelleckChem)
    • Prestwick Chemical Library: Approved drugs with high chemical and pharmacological diversity
    • SelleckChem FDA-approved Drug Library: Structurally diverse, medicinally active, and cell permeable
  • RNA-Targeted Library
    • A dedicated set of ~3 k compounds to target RNA
    • Selected with 2D and 3D similarity to reported RNA binding compounds
  • Fragment Compound Library
    • A diverse collection of ~1.5 k fragments
    • Optimized properties for fragment screening and chemistry follow up
    • Access to in-house diversity libraries for rapid hit expansion
      • Core fragment library, including 3D shape and multiple growth vectors
      • 19F labelled fragment set
      • Kinase focused fragment sub-set

Talk to a specialist

Compound Library eGuide Cover

Compound Library Quick Guide
Download this guide to obtain a breakdown of our >1.4 million chemical compounds, and learn about our processes for curation, QC, compound management, and screening set design.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Compound Libraries

  • What is a compound library?

    A compound library is a collection of chemicals that can be used for high-throughput screening and other processes for drug development. The chemical compound characteristics, like structure, purity, and quantity are usually stored in a chemical library database for later use. The goal of building a small molecule library is to find compounds that might be a viable drug candidate for your program.

  • What compound libraries does Charles River offer?

    Charles River fuels drug discovery by offering numerous options for screening with a focus on quality and actionable characteristics, including small molecule and fragment compound libraries, antibody screening libraries, cell line libraries, and cDNA Libraries. If your program requires a unique approach, we are able to offer custom compound library design.

  • How is a chemical library database repurposed?

    Compound library repurposing, which is also referred to as drug repositioning or re-profiling, is when scientists re-investigate the unknown activity of declined drug candidates that were previously thought to have no activity. Charles River offers three annotated libraries for drug repurposing: the Prestwick Chemical Library, the SelleckChem FDA-approved Drug Library, and the Specs Repurposing Library.

  • What is the Charles River SmartScreen compound library?

    The Charles River SmartScreen compound library is a unique library in which the design was driven by protein binding pocket information, scaffold hopping, and novel chemistry. It contains ~18,000 semi-exclusive non-vendor compounds and as with our other libraries, we can build in follow-up chemistry services within an HTS package for solid resupply of SmartScreen hits.