HTS and HCS are tools utilized in drug designing technology. HTS stands for High Throughput Screening, while HCS stands for High Content Screening, and both are a scientific method of experimentation used in the process of the invention of drugs. It employs sensitive detectors, robotics, liquid handling devices, and data processing and control software. With high throughput screening, a researcher can perform millions of genetic, pharmacological, and chemical experiments in a much shorter time period.
Through this technique, the researcher can detect antibiotics, genes, or active compounds that play a role in the biochemical process. HCS is a technique that shares many of the same criteria as Throughput Screening. The most prominent difference between the two is that HCS obtains multiple readouts from cell analysis. In HCS, live cell imagining is involved.
The purpose is to extract temporal dynamics and spatial information, which means a strong dependence on image analysis. The objective of high content screening is to balance the collection of useful information with high efficiency.