Metabolite Probes for Molecular Optical Imaging

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a growing need in the medical imaging sciences to better detect and characterize abnormal tissue and disease processes. Additionally, definitive and successful imaging modalities allowing the molecular characterization of pathological processes have yet to be obtained. VisEn Medical is developing a broad optical imaging technology platform that will enable noninvasive imaging of molecular events associated with human disease. By utilizing near-infrared emitting fluorochromes (NIRFs) linked to biomolecules (i.e. imaging probe), VisEn can obtain information as to the localization and activity of specific enzymes and metabolites associated with a particular pathology, including cancer. The overall goal of this study is to develop and synthesize NIRF-conjugated metabolite probes capable of imaging the in vivo metabolic function of cancer in real-time. To achieve this objective, VisEn will: 1. Develop monovalent and bivalent NIRF-conjugated glucose biomolecules. Probes will be synthesized by conjugating glucosamine to several different fluorochromes in sufficient quantities for purification, analysis and in vitro characterization. 2. Characterize metabolite-imaging probes by physiochemical and optical metrics. Kinetics and specificity of cellular uptake will be examined to help select the most promising candidates for in vivo analysis. 3. Perform in vivo imaging experiments to demonstrate the ability of the probes to image tumor bearing animal models noninvasive and in real-time. This study represents the first step towards the development of novel, safe and cost-effective clinical agents to image molecular profiles of cancer in vivo.