An overview of the PubChem BioAssay resource

The PubChem BioAssay database (http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) is a public repository for biological activities of small molecules and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) hosted by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). It archives experimental descriptions of assays and biological test results and makes the information freely accessible to the public. A PubChem BioAssay data entry includes an assay description, a summary and detailed test results. Each assay record is linked to the molecular target, whenever possible, and is cross-referenced to other National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database records. ‘Related BioAssays’ are identified by examining the assay target relationship and activity profile of commonly tested compounds. A key goal of PubChem BioAssay is to make the biological activity information easily accessible through the NCBI information retrieval system-Entrez, and various web-based PubChem services. An integrated suite of data analysis tools are available to optimize the utility of the chemical structure and biological activity information within PubChem, enabling researchers to aggregate, compare and analyze biological test results contributed by multiple organizations. In this work, we describe the PubChem BioAssay database, including data model, bioassay deposition and utilities that PubChem provides for searching, downloading and analyzing the biological activity information contained therein.