Dissertation defence (Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry): MSc Tatsiana Auchynnikava
Time
13.9.2024 at 12.00 - 16.00
MSc Tatsiana Auchynnikava defends the dissertation in Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry titled “Radiolabeling of spherical oligonucleotides for targeted and pretargeted PET imaging. Biological evaluation of structural effects by using a tetrazine [18F]fluoroglycoconjugate” at the University of Turku on 13 September 2024 at 12.00 (Risto Lahesmaa Auditorium, TYKS T-hospital, Hämeentie 11, Turku).
Opponent: Assistant Professor Verena Pichler, PhD (University of Vienna, Austria)
Custos: Professor Anu J. Airaksinen, PhD (University of Turku)
Doctoral Dissertation at UTUPub: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9790-9
The audience can participate in the defence by remote access: https://utu.zoom.us/j/64965594024
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Summary of the Doctoral Dissertation:
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful, non-invasive imaging tool. It is especially useful in drug discovery and testing new treatments at early stages. Pretargeted PET is a method that lets us study slow-moving processes with short-lived radionuclides, reducing radiation exposure and improving image clarity. This is possible due to the separate application of targeting and radiolabeled compounds, which then react inside the body.
Molecular spherical nucleic acids (MSNAs) are a new type of drug delivery structure that have advantages over the traditional, straight-shaped counterparts. However, we need to investigate how they behave inside the body.
My research focused on developing a way to attach radioactive compounds to MSNA so we could see they go and how they act inside the body using PET scans. I tested this method in mice with tumors to see how well the MSNAs targeted the cancer. I also tried different chemical structures of MSNAs to see which ones worked best.
We found that tetrazine conjugated with a glucose analog ([18F]FDG-Tz) worked well for labeling MSNAs, both directly and through pretargeted approach. The MSNAs had better distribution in the body compared to traditional single-stranded structure. Notably, the pretargeted approach led to higher tumor uptake than direct labeling.
In summary, [18F]FDG-Tz successfully helped us track MSNAs, providing insights into how their structure affects their distribution in the body. This could lead to better drug delivery systems in the future.
Opponent: Assistant Professor Verena Pichler, PhD (University of Vienna, Austria)
Custos: Professor Anu J. Airaksinen, PhD (University of Turku)
Doctoral Dissertation at UTUPub: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9790-9
The audience can participate in the defence by remote access: https://utu.zoom.us/j/64965594024
***
Summary of the Doctoral Dissertation:
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful, non-invasive imaging tool. It is especially useful in drug discovery and testing new treatments at early stages. Pretargeted PET is a method that lets us study slow-moving processes with short-lived radionuclides, reducing radiation exposure and improving image clarity. This is possible due to the separate application of targeting and radiolabeled compounds, which then react inside the body.
Molecular spherical nucleic acids (MSNAs) are a new type of drug delivery structure that have advantages over the traditional, straight-shaped counterparts. However, we need to investigate how they behave inside the body.
My research focused on developing a way to attach radioactive compounds to MSNA so we could see they go and how they act inside the body using PET scans. I tested this method in mice with tumors to see how well the MSNAs targeted the cancer. I also tried different chemical structures of MSNAs to see which ones worked best.
We found that tetrazine conjugated with a glucose analog ([18F]FDG-Tz) worked well for labeling MSNAs, both directly and through pretargeted approach. The MSNAs had better distribution in the body compared to traditional single-stranded structure. Notably, the pretargeted approach led to higher tumor uptake than direct labeling.
In summary, [18F]FDG-Tz successfully helped us track MSNAs, providing insights into how their structure affects their distribution in the body. This could lead to better drug delivery systems in the future.
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