SBIR Phase I: Production of Fullerene Radiopharmaceuticals Using Nuclear Recoil

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目建议开发使用核反冲注入方法生产富勒烯放射性同位素载体的方法。向癌症组织安全运送放射性同位素的一个长期问题是，放射性同位素过早泄漏，并对骨髓等健康组织造成损害。目前，当放射性金属在体内用于诊断或治疗应用时，必须使用有机螯合物作为金属原子的载体。然而，目前的螯合物并不能100%有效地结合，而且潜在的有毒放射性金属原子可能在体内丢失。由于其独特的笼状结构，富勒烯不会出现这种缺陷，并提供了一种新的替代方法来包埋放射性同位素并产生用于医学成像和治疗的标记化合物。该项目的商业应用是在癌症放射免疫治疗领域。鉴于针对癌症的单抗设计的最新进展和几种新的放射免疫治疗的临床成功，放射免疫治疗领域目前正处于快速发展和商业化的轨道上。一种优质的放射性同位素载体将是目前放射性药物武器库的一个受欢迎的补充。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Projectproposes to develop methods for producing fullerene radioisotope carriers using the nuclear recoil implantation method. A persistent problem in the safe delivery of radioisotopes to cancer tissue is the premature leakage of the radioisotope and the damage it causes to healthy tissues such as bone marrow. Currently, when radioactive metals are used in the body for diagnostic or therapeutic applications, organic chelates must be employed as carriers for the metal atom. However, current chelates do not bind with 100% efficiency, and potentially toxic radioactive metal atoms can be lost in vivo. Because of their unique cage structure, fullerenes do not suffer this deficiency and offer a novel alternative method for entrapping radioisotopes and producing labeled compounds useful for medical imaging and therapy.The commercial applications of this project are in the area of cancer radioimmunotherapy. Given the recent advances in the design of monoclonal antibodies for targeting cancer and in the clinical successes of several new radioimmunotherapy treatments, the field of radioimmunotherapy is currently poised for rapid growth and commercialization. A superior radioisotope carrier would be a welcome addition to the current arsenal of radiopharmaceuticals.