Production of Fullerene Radiopharmaceuticals Using Nuclear Recoil

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.