White Point Systems' NAPIS^® Lite

White Point Systems Releases

Version 2.0 of NAtural Products Information System

NAPIS supports natural products drug discovery researchers at the government, industry, and university levels by providing a link between the library, laboratory and field. In addition to sample tracking throughout the process of bioassay-directed isolation, NAPIS integrates geographic information system (GIS) technology using ESRI's Map Objects, which allows text-field database tables to be related to spatial features on computer-based maps. Researchers can query using the GIS map and drill down on chemical structures, or vice versa; query on chemistry/bioactivity; and show the results on a map.

NAPIS^® Lite is a production tool for field biologists that contains a subset of the functionality included in the higher level NAPIS products. For more information, see the White Point Systems website at www.wps2.com.



Download NAPIS^® Lite Software and Data
WARNING: This download is rather large and requires a good connection to the Internet. Depending on the amount of sample data desired, the download is between 10-24 MB.

The NAPIS technology provides important features for researchers working with natural products chemicals. Natural products are chemical or genetic materials derived from nature. Because chemical diversity in the natural environment is primarily based upon biological and geographic diversity, researchers travel the world acquiring samples to evaluate in their drug discovery screens. Documenting the detailed ecology of each sample collection is not feasible, however, because most come from widely different organism groups -- and questions that arise during follow-on studies are frequently not addressed at the initial collection.

This creates gaps within the information record for each sample collection, gaps that can be filled using geographic information system (GIS) technology. For these follow-on questions, researchers can use GIS to add spatial data (i.e., mapped data) on a need to know basis, and addition of these varied data does not affect the NAPIS logical design or data model. The result is an information system that relieves the burden of documentation at the initial collection stage, and provides extended power for query of the dataset to support follow-on studies. This technology holds potential for greater efficiency in the drug discovery process.

NAPIS is developed within a client-server environment but can also function autonomously, it is modular, scaleable, and secure. Benefits of the system include:

• Comprehensive tracking of samples through the bioassay-directed isolation process.
• Data mining through the NAPIS - OSAR Query Profiler (Organism / Structure - Chemistry / BioActivity Relationships) with the ability to display query results on the GIS map.
• Assured recollection through standardized documentation protocols for researchers with varied training and language backgrounds, incorporation of specimen photographs,
• Chemical dereplication by linking to and extending commercially-available databases that contain information on known natural products chemistry (full compatibility with later releases only),
• Comprehensive information handling for acquisition program planning, permitting and compliance assurance.

Natural products chemicals have played, and will continue to play, a key role in drug discovery. Screening natural products extracts, however, is expensive when compared with synthetic and combinatorial chemical libraries. Biological activity directed isolation studies and structural elucidation of unknown compounds adds to the expense. Acquiring and tracking natural products source organism collections have extended requirements for information handling. Combining these requirements within one system, NAPIS, will not only reduce their costs, but can provide the leverage to convert them to assets for guiding future efforts.

For more information, contact: