Richard A. Lerner; Dario Neri
Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 2020, 527(3), 757-759
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.04.080

Abstract

In this short Editorial, we reflect on certain milestones that have led to the development of DNA-Encoded Chemical Libraries, while also providing a glimpse to future challenges and opportunities.
We (RAL & DN) have been asked to write an introduction to the present volume. Since this is a collection of reports from prominent researchers in the field of DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DEL), merely summarizing its content would put us in the position of explaining accidents to eye witnesses. So instead, we have decided to focus on a more historical perspective, and specifically, to relate some of our personal experiences that have contributed to the origins and development of the DEL field. Our hope is that this may be both entertaining and useful - as sometimes history is a preface to the present, and even to the future.
In an extraordinary event, the CRO Wuxi took up the challenge and built an 800 billion-member library, of which 80 billion members are freely available to academics under the general considerations mentioned above.