The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) Rational Drug Discovery Centre at St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research in Victoria combines kinetic, affinity and thermodynamic analyses to fully characterise protein – protein and protein – small molecule interactions in order to predict function and biological activity.  

Microscale thermophoresis (MST) is combined with Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal calorimetry (ITC)  to provide information regarding the rate at which complexes form, how tightly the complexes bind, the forces that drive the complex formation and mechanism of action.

MST is a relatively new technique which detects changes in the hydration shell, charge or size of molecules. It allows measurement of a wide range of biomolecular interactions in solution to predict affinity.   Due to the low protein consumption of the MST instrument we have found this technique to be a useful primary screen in kinetic studies and a valuable complimentary technique for SPR.