The Chemical Probes Portal led a hands-on PROTAC Hackathon hosted at the Francis Crick Institute, bringing together 34 early-career researchers to critically evaluate chemical probes. Participants produced 24 structured reviews — soon to be featured on the Portal — and 100% reported improved understanding. The next Hackathon will take place at the Joint EUFEPS–SITELF Annual Meeting 2026 in Naples.
Increasing the quality and robustness of biological and biomedical research using chemical probes
Increasing the quality and robustness of biological and biomedical research using chemical probes
Welcome to the Chemical Probes Portal, a free, public online resource providing expert reviews and guidance on chemical probes.
The Chemical Probes Portal supports the biological and biomedical research community in selecting the best chemical tools, such as inhibitors, activators and degraders, to use as chemical probes for their experiments. The Portal’s expert panel provides guidance on choosing the most suitable probe for in vitro and in vivo experiments, and shares best practice for application.
The Portal currently focuses on human proteins, but has plans to expand its coverage.
News
As we reflect on a landmark year for the Chemical Probes Portal, we celebrate major milestones in growth, community engagement, and a decade of impact. From expanding our collection of high-quality chemical probes and welcoming new expert reviewers, to record-breaking hackathons and ambitious plans for 2026, this newsletter highlights how the Portal continues to strengthen best practice and empower the global chemical biology community.
The latest Chemical Probes Hackathon, hosted at the University of Oxford, brought together 22 early-career researchers and 6 expert mentors for a day of hands-on exploration of GPCR and ion channel probes. Working in teams, participants completed 26 probe reviews using the Chemical Probes Portal, developing their skills in data interpretation, selectivity assessment, and probe quality evaluation.
Cite us:
- The Chemical Probes Portal – 2024: update on this public resource to support best-practice selection and use of small molecules in biomedical research, Sanfelice et al., Nucleic Acids Research 2025 gkae1062. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae1062
- Please add our URL to your publication: www.chemicalprobes.org