Reliable decision-making in drug discovery, chemical biology, and diagnostic development depends on
accurate measures of molecular recognition and function. Yet binding studies often treat imprecision, that
is, random error, as the sole marker of data quality, while overlooking inaccuracy, that is, systematic bias. In
this seminar, I will explain why standard assays for binding affinity (Kd) can hide systematic deviations of
orders of magnitude, even when curve fits look acceptable and standard errors are small.
Drawing on our recent theoretical and experimental studies [1-9], I will show how amplified propagation of
concentration errors in nonlinear regression models can greatly change apparent Kd values and distort
decisions in hit triage and candidate ranking. I will also demonstrate accessible browser-based tools for
estimating the accuracy of Kd from individual binding curves. The discussion will remain at the level of
general principles while also illustrating their relevance to aptamers and aptasensors [10-12].
Finally, I will outline the goals of an emerging consortium that brings together academic laboratories with
instrumentation and high-throughput screening developers to establish reliable experimental practices and
consensus reporting standards.
6/05/2026 ore 10:30
Il giorno 6 Maggio alle ore 10.30 nell’aula Seminari
Il Prof. Sergey N. Krylov
Center for Research on Biomolecular Interactions, York University, Toronto, Canada
terrà un seminario dal titolo
“Overlooked Causes and Costly Consequences of Gross Inaccuracies in Binding Studies: Time to Act”