NCI’s Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory

I ran across this article last week in medicalphysicsweb.com, so might as well post it. All kinds of news from the Fort this week:

Apr 15, 2008

A new take on MRI contrast

The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) has given the go-ahead for preclinical characterization of a nanomaterials-based contrast agent that’s being billed, at least by developers in industry, as “a completely new approach to enhancing contrast during MRI procedures”.

The modified fullerene compound comes from the labs of Luna Innovations, a Roanoke, VA-based technology-transfer company with interests in healthcare, telecoms, energy and defence markets.

Studies of the MRI contrast candidate will include characterization of its physical attributes, its in vitro biological properties and its in vivo compatibility using animal models. Researchers will also examine critical parameters related to distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicity.

The study programme is expected to take a year from receipt through the in vivo phase. Evaluation will be carried out at the NCI’s Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) in Frederick, MD. The NCL’s remit is to standardize preclinical characterization of nanomaterials intended for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

“The outcome of this characterization study is the report necessary for an Investigational New Drug application,” said Chris Kepley, nanoimmunology group leader at Luna and principal investigator on the study. “The process of getting a new drug to market can be a lengthy one. However, with the NCL behind us we hope to move forward more quickly bringing to market a next-generation solution for MRI contrast agents.”