A high-throughput screening is a comprehensive process to identify and evaluate molecules or compounds that have the potential to be used as active pharmaceutical ingredients for the treatment of certain diseases. With the help of high-throughput screenings (HTS; German translation: Hochdurchsatz-Screenings), tens of thousands of substances can be automatically tested for their biological, chemical or pharmacological properties.

Validation comprises several important steps:

• Selection of candidates: From a huge number of compounds, those with potentially useful properties are selected. This can be done with computer modeling, whereby the interaction of molecules with biological targets (translation into German: biologische Zielstrukturen) is predicted, or with experimental screening.
• In vitro testing: Selected compounds are tested under laboratory conditions (e.g. on cell cultures) to verify their efficacy and safety.
• Optimization of active pharmaceutical ingredients: After initial tests, active pharmaceutical ingredients can be modified in order to improve their properties such as efficacy, stability, solubility (German: Löslichkeit) and safety.
• Preclinical research: Before an active pharmaceutical ingredient can be tested on humans, it must undergo a series of preclinical studies in order to confirm its safety and efficacy.

High-throughput screenings are an important step in the drug research and development process as it reduces the list of potential active pharmaceutical ingredients to those that are most promising for further study and development.

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