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

放射學(xué)、分子生物學(xué)、藥理學(xué)和化學(xué)教授Michael Welch博士說：“許多科學(xué)家用于癌癥研究的新研制的放射性核素供應(yīng)短缺，或者很難獲得，這已經(jīng)引起了關(guān)注。我們當(dāng)前的生產(chǎn)體系不能滿足日益增長(zhǎng)的需求。”

這項(xiàng)撥款允許華盛頓大學(xué)（St. Louis, MO, USA）的科學(xué)家尋找新核素的潛在用途，并確保這些藥物以足夠數(shù)量提供給研究者。撥款支持Biomed21三個(gè)重點(diǎn)領(lǐng)域中的兩個(gè)：影像學(xué)和交叉學(xué)科研究。BioMed21是華盛頓大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院的一項(xiàng)提案：即將基礎(chǔ)科學(xué)的進(jìn)展盡可能快地用于患者的臨床治療。

為了尋找為臨床醫(yī)生提供更好的腫瘤影像資料，影像學(xué)科學(xué)家通常致力于研制有前途的新型放射性元素。對(duì)放射性核素的需求以及用于影像學(xué)核素種類都有了飛速增長(zhǎng)，從而使生產(chǎn)出現(xiàn)了滯后。因?yàn)槿A盛頓大學(xué)的Mallinckrodt放射學(xué)研究所與其他幾個(gè)大學(xué)擁有自己的小型回旋加速器，能夠生產(chǎn)放射性核素的設(shè)施，Welch博士計(jì)劃在這些大學(xué)建立一個(gè)生產(chǎn)網(wǎng)絡(luò)以滿足研究人員的需求。

Welch博士解釋到：“做為這個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)運(yùn)行的一個(gè)范例，我們目前生產(chǎn)放射性核素銅-64，并將其運(yùn)輸?shù)奖椴既绹?guó)的30多個(gè)研究院，并與至少7位研究者保持合作測(cè)試這些元素。我們希望開發(fā)這些工藝能夠被用于其他醫(yī)學(xué)研究中心，然后也許建立一系列的生產(chǎn)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.”