The Imaging Probe Development Center at NIH: A central core facility for the production and dissemination of molecular imaging probes

The Imaging Probe Development Center (IPDC, Rockville, MD), founded as part of the 2003 trans-NIH Roadmap for Medical Research initiative, provides synthetic chemistry support needed by interdisciplinary researchers for the supply of molecular imaging probes. Such research projects run from basic through translational to clinical in nature. The IPDC has state-of-the-art equipment and is staffed by scientists drawn from diverse backgrounds encompassing expertise in synthetic, inorganic, radiochemical, and conjugation chemistries. The IPDC has worked with principal investigators from over a dozen different NIH Institutes, along with some extramural collaborators, with a preponderance of projects related to cancer imaging, and has supplied literature-reported and novel agents used in all types of imaging modalities, including MRI, optical fluorescence and PET/SPECT. Examples of probes used for cancer imaging studies will be discussed including several radiolabeled low molecular weight drugs synthesized from first principles and radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies and other proteins. Several agents are undergoing further studies in clinical and process development. Recently made probes will be used to illustrate the scope and capabilities of the Center. The Center is able to work with other interested parties in order to develop useful imaging agents, particularly those that also have therapeutic implications. For more information, or to make enquiries about probe availability or potential collaborations you may visit our website at: http://www.ipdc.nih.gov.