美國研究人員最近收到了美國國立癌癥研究院（the U.S. National Cancer Institute）一項為期五年四百七十萬美元的撥款，用來研究生產、運輸、以及使用放射性核酸檢測癌癥的新途徑。

放射學、分子生物學、藥理學和化學教授Michael Welch博士說：“許多科學家用于癌癥研究的新研制的放射性核素供應短缺，或者很難獲得，這已經引起了關注。我們當前的生產體系不能滿足日益增長的需求。”

這項撥款允許華盛頓大學（St. Louis, MO, USA）的科學家尋找新核素的潛在用途，并確保這些藥物以足夠數量提供給研究者。撥款支持Biomed21三個重點領域中的兩個：影像學和交叉學科研究。BioMed21是華盛頓大學醫學院的一項提案：即將基礎科學的進展盡可能快地用于患者的臨床治療。

為了尋找為臨床醫生提供更好的腫瘤影像資料，影像學科學家通常致力于研制有前途的新型放射性元素。對放射性核素的需求以及用于影像學核素種類都有了飛速增長，從而使生產出現了滯后。因為華盛頓大學的Mallinckrodt放射學研究所與其他幾個大學擁有自己的小型回旋加速器，能夠生產放射性核素的設施，Welch博士計劃在這些大學建立一個生產網絡以滿足研究人員的需求。

Welch博士解釋到：“做為這個網絡運行的一個范例，我們目前生產放射性核素銅-64，并將其運輸到遍布全美國的30多個研究院，并與至少7位研究者保持合作測試這些元素。我們希望開發這些工藝能夠被用于其他醫學研究中心，然后也許建立一系列的生產基地。”

Grant for Research on Radionuclides
 
U.S. researchers have recently received a five-year, U.S.$4.7 million grant from the U.S. National Cancer Institute to study new approaches to produce, distribute, and use radionuclides to detect tumors.

“There is concern that many newly developed radionuclides that scientists want to use for cancer research are in short supply and not readily available,” says Michael Welch, Ph.D., professor of radiology, molecular biology, and pharmacology and chemistry. “Our current system of production just is not able to keep up with demand.”

The grant will allow scientists from Washington University (St. Louis, MO, USA) to search for possible applications for new radionuclides and work to find ways for assuring that these agents are available to researchers in adequate quantities. The grant supports studies related to two of the three primary focus areas of Biomed21: imaging and interdisciplinary research. BioMed 21 is Washington University School of Medicine’s proposal to quickly bring advances in science to the patient’s bedside.

To find ways to give clinicians better images of tumors, imaging technology scientists typically develop new radioactive forms of elements with promising characteristics. Demand and the variety of imaging agents available have increased drastically, making it difficult to keep up with production. Because Washington University's Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and several other universities have their own small cyclotrons, devices that can produce radionuclides, Dr. Welch plans to establish a production network among these universities to meet the investigators’ needs.

“As an example of how this network might operate, we’re currently producing a radionuclide known as copper-64, shipping it to over 30 institutions throughout the United States, and collaborating with at least seven investigators to test it,” explained Dr. Welch. “We’re hoping to develop these techniques in ways that can be transferred to other medical research centers, and then perhaps to begin setting up a series of production sites.”