Notes: These authors used the CellTiter-Glo® and ViralTox-Glo® assays to screen a library of compounds for antiviral activity against Ebola and other flaviviruses. They initially performed screens in 384-well plates using a reporter-based assay for viral replication and CellTiter-Glo® to assess cytotoxicity. Having identified a promising compound, they then performed various dose-response curves to confirm that the dose that most effectively inhibited viral replication was not toxic to the host cells. The authors then confirmed that the compound was effective in assays using live viruses. For these assays they used the ViralTox-Glo® assay to assess effectiveness. (4939)

Notes: The authors developed and validated a high-throughput screen for inhibitors of Nipah Virus (NiV) cytopathic effect using the ViralTox™ Glo Assay that could be conducted in under biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory conditions. The assay was adapted to a 384-well format and met specific criteria for %CV of positive controls, signal-to-background ratios, minimal plate effects and bias. Of the 10,080 compounds screened in the pilot study, further characterization of the initial "hits" identified three sulfonamide compounds that specifically inhibited NiV induced cytopathic effect. This is the first instance in which an HTS platform was implemented in a BSL-4 environment. (4447)