Notes
Antibacterial screening notes, from the bench side of the read-out
Working notes on the parts of antibacterial screening that are easy to get slightly wrong. Written for people who will be at a bench or a program review later the same week.
Minimum inhibitory concentration definition: what a MIC actually tells you
The MIC is the lowest concentration that stops visible growth. That sentence hides a plate, a dilution series and a set of conventions worth knowing.
Read the note- Published
- 14 July 2026
- Read time
- 7 min
- Topic
- Method
- Reference page
- Minimum inhibitory concentration
Every note links to the reference page that covers the same subject in full, and to the screen.
21 Jul 2026
Method
MIC in microbiology: how the number is actually measured
Broth microdilution, agar dilution and gradient strips give different answers for good reasons. Here is what happens on the bench, and where the error comes from.
28 Jul 2026
Screening
High content screening: when an image beats a growth curve
A growth curve tells you whether a compound worked. An image can tell you how, which is the more expensive question to answer later.
4 Aug 2026
Chemistry
Lead optimization in drug discovery, when the target is a bacterium
Standard lead optimization pushes lipophilicity up. For Gram-negatives that is often exactly the wrong direction, and the series dies on the plate.
Reference pages
Longer, more structured background on the same subjects.
- MRSA methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus
- Minimum inhibitory concentration minimum inhibitory concentration
- High throughput screening high throughput screening
- Gram-negative bacteria gram negative bacteria
- Antibiotic resistance antibiotic resistance
- Antimicrobial resistance antimicrobial resistance
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The screen on the homepage takes about ten seconds and returns a matrix for six strains. Start there, then come back for the detail.
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