Hello, CDD users, and Happy 2025! As we get started with this new year, CDD Support thought we would highlight the CDD Vault Curves feature set.
These features include curve fits such as:
All of which allow you to plot a wider range of assay data using CDD Vault. Other recent enhancements include Area under Curve (AUC) calculation, plot customization, and export options.
As a quick recap, the Curves Add-on offers additional features for plotting and analysing data within CDD Vault. This is on top of the existing 4-parameter logistic curve (Hill equation) available to all users.
Note that in order to use these new curve fits, they need to be first enabled by a Vault administrator by navigating to the Settings > Vault > Plots page.
If you are not yet subscribed to Curves, please contact your CDD Vault account manager, or the CDD Vault Support Team, to discuss enabling these features in your Vault.
Bell Equation
The Bell equation can be used to plot assay data within protocols. The steps to get there are very similar to creating any other protocol involving the Hill Equation. Once you create a protocol, proceed as usual to create readouts for the values you’d like to plot on the X and Y axis (remember to add a unit for your X axis readout). Once this is done, you can create your “Plot” readout, and select the Bell Curve Equation from the Curve Fit Algorithm dropdown.
After selecting your curve fit, you can define your desired Data Calculations. For Bell curves, you’ll see an option to select the side for the intercepts you wish to add. This allows you to add calculations for both sides of the curve by simply specifying the desired intersection and side of intercept.
Once your Plot readout is created, and you’ve imported your data into the protocol, the Bell curves will be visible in search results
For Bell curves, CDD Vault will report the following parameters, which can be added to your search results using “Customize your report”:
Linear Equation
Another addition to the selection of curve fits is a Linear Equation. This Linear Equation can be selected for the Plot readout definition in the same way as the Bell Equation, from the Curve Fit Algorithm dropdown. For linear curves, CDD Vault will automatically calculate the following parameters from the plotted data:
Scatter Plot
The Scatter Plot can be used to plot assay data where datapoints do not need any curve-fit algorithm. The imported data points will be displayed independently, according to their X and Y axis values.
The following parameters will automatically be calculated for scatter plots:
Exponential Decay
The Exponential Decay Equation can be used to plot data with exponentially increasing and decreasing sections of the curve. The following parameters will be automatically calculated from data imported using the Exponential Decay Equation:
Area Under Curve and Fold Change
Area Under the Curve is now available as a default calculated parameter for all curve fits: Hill equation, Bell equation, Linear equation, Exponential Decay Equation and Scatter plot. The AUC will be calculated automatically and available by clicking Customize your report and selecting ‘Area under the curve’ from the protocol readout definition section.
The Fold change is another useful parameter when evaluating your results in CDD Vault. If you’ve included a reference compound in your plate map, the fold change is the ratio of the test compound intercept to the reference compound intercept. The fold change is displayed for calculated intercepts for the protocol, such as EC50 and EC90, per plate or per run, depending on the protocol definition.
In addition to this, it will soon be possible to calculate Fold change for AUC values, to
help determine differences in potency and efficacy.
Customizing Exported Plots
Once you have your data plotted, you can choose to export it as a png or a pdf. The Curves Add-On allows you to customize this export further, such as adding a title to your plot, modifying the axis labels, and determining what should be included in the legend.
Helpful Tips and tricks for getting the best out of curves:
Additional curve fits are coming, let us know if there are particular curves you would like CDD to consider prioritizing. Stay tuned for future Vault updates.
CDD Support is always happy to schedule a working session to help you get familiar with these features in CDD Vault. Just email CDD Support to schedule your feature review!
If this Vault Snack leaves you hungry for more, all previous Vault Snacks can be found here and as always, feel free to contact CDD Support — we are available to help you succeed in using CDD Vault.
PS - Did you try the new Support AI ChatBot yet? You can find it in the upper right corner of CDD Vault, after logging in, next to the "Help" button. Give it a try and let us know your feedback.