Molecular Imaging Reporter Core | Molecular Imaging Chemistry Core | High Throughput Core

Molecular Imaging Chemistry Core (MICC)
Scientific Co-Director - Vijay Sharma

> Mission Statement

The MICC was organized to design and develop new imaging probes adopting an unbiased multimodality strategy for understanding biochemical processes at the molecular level. To accomplish this objective, the Center brings together a diverse group of interdisciplinary scientists from within the Washington University Medical School community on a single platform and provides support to their preclinical research. It includes research scientists from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), and Siteman Cancer Center who together explore cancer biology and apply innovative chemical tools to detect biochemical events at the cellular level within broad domain of molecular imaging.

Washington University has a long and distinguished history in discovery and development of PET and SPECT radiotracers for diagnosis of the disease processes and monitoring effectiveness of therapies via application of these modalities. Over the years, the process of drug development has become an increasingly more complex, expensive, and intensely regulated. Acknowledging these diverse challenges, research community within the Washington University Molecular Imaging Center recognized the opportunity and need to expand and coordinate its efforts in design and development of specialized biochemical probes as versatile tools for applications in preclinical research. To promote interdisciplinary research efforts independent of modalities, the broad mission for MICC involves the discovery and development of agents beneficial in wide array of imaging technologies such as SPECT, PET, Fluorescence, Chemiluminescence, Optical, Nanotechnology, and Bioluminescence imaging for diagnosis of diseased states and monitoring of therapeutic responses at anatomical, functional, and molecular levels.

> Functionality Description

The MICC is an interdisciplinary and inter-departmental facility that promotes and facilitates the development of new reagents and optimization of existing ones for molecular imaging applications. Major activities covered under the MICC are outlined below:

• Support the early preclinical phase development of novel agents for diagnosis of diseases and monitoring therapeutic effects of drugs.
• Coordinating and supporting activities of other investigators (involved in drug discovery, target identification, elucidation of drug-resistance pathways, and structure-function analyses); translational laboratory and core testing facilities; regulatory aspects of radiotracers via both intramural and extramural; and on-site contract research.
• Develop radiotracers for gene therapy applications.
• Provide quality controls for reagents used in biomedical imaging applications.
• Support laboratory of NanoSPECT imaging and other relevant core facilities critical to the missions of the Molecular Imaging Center.
• Provide pharmacokinetic studies and metabolite analyses for molecular imaging projects.
• Providing education and training to new investigators to attract young scientists to the field of molecular imaging.

> Personnel

Samuel Achilefu
G S M Sundaram
Scott Harpstrite
James Johnson
Vijay Sharma
Jothilingam Sivapackiam

> Relevant Publications

Harpstrite SE, Prior JL, Rath NP, Sharma V. Metalloprobes: Synthesis, characterization, and potency of a novel gallium(III) complex in human epidermal carcinoma cells. J Inorg Biochem 2007; 101(10): 1347-53.

Bullok KE, Violini S, Prantner AM, Gammon ST, Villalobos VM, Sharma V, Piwnica-Worms D. Permeation peptide conjugates for in vivo imaging applications. Molec Imaging 2006; 5(1): 1-15.

Richard JC, Zhou Z, Ponde DE, Dence CS, Factor P, Reynold PN, Luker GD, Sharma V, Ferkol T, Piwnica-Worms D, Schuster D. Imaging pulmonary transgene expression with positron-emission tomography. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2003; 167(9): 1257-63.

Gammon ST, Villalobos VM, Prior JL, Sharma V, Piwnica-Worms D. Quantitative analysis of permeation peptide complexes labeled with technetium-99m: Chiral and sequence-specific effects on net cell uptake. Bioconjug Chem. 2003; 14(2): 368-76.

Luker GD, Sharma V, Pica CM, Dahlheimer JL, Li W, Ocheskey JA, Ryan CE, Piwnica-Worms H, Piwnica-Worms D. Noninvasive imaging of protein-protein interactions in living animals. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2002; 99(10): 6961-6.

> Collaborators

Nigel Cairns, Department of Neurology
Buck Rogers, Department of Radiation Oncology