MMRL also performs contract research using a mulit - level screening approach to identify active agents and to assess their efficacy and mechanisms of action from within existing chemical libraries.

Level I:
Proprietary, ultra - high level throughput fluorometric enzymatic assays are available to identify active agents at specific biochemical targets that MMRL has determined are involved in the modulation of energy metabolism.

Level II:
Active compounds undergo further trials to confirm their selectivity and efficacy using high throughput biochemical assays in intact cell systems.

Level III:
New evaluation of lead compounds in intact, perfused organs to quantify their efficacy and anti - ischemic mechanisms. Pioneered by MMRL, this experimental approach employs intact working hearts perfused under appropriate conditions of myocardial energy supply and demand.
This system allows the study of both mechanical (heart rate, aortic pressure, coronary flow, aortic outflow, cardiac output, contractility) and metabolic (MVO2, glycolysis, glucose, and fatty acid oxidation rates) function and cardiac efficiency continuously throughout aerobic perfusion, or during and following graded periods of controlled ischemia.