BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Peptide based radiopharmaceuticals are gaining extensive attention as targeted molecular imaging agents. It is therefore important that we develop technologies that allow us to synthesize these agents rapidly and screen them both in vitro and in vivo to assess their efficacy. Dr Sutcliffe's research involves the design, synthesis and in vivo evaluation of targeted molecular imaging agents with a primary focus on PET. Her group have developed rapid radiolabeling technologies using both solid-phase and solution-phase chemistry to incorporate the short half-life PET radionuclide, 18F into peptides. In this presentation Dr Sutcliffe will talk about the 2 approaches her group currently use to design imaging agents, a rational approach and a random high-throughput approach. The molecular target of interest is the cell surface receptor α_vβ₆. This receptor is expressed on oral squamous cell carcinoma, colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer and has currently been identified as a marker of prognosis in both lung and colon cancer. Dr Sutcliffe will present preliminary in vivo results of their current α_vβ₆-specific targeting imaging agents. Although integrins are a focus for her group the technologies under development are applicable to many cell surface receptors.