Positron Science and its implications for
Drug Discovery and Development
Suzanne V Smith
ARC Centre of Excellence in
Anti-matter Matter Studies (CAMS)
Institute of Materials and
Engineering Science
Australian Nuclear Science and
Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
The
ability to trace a drug as it travels through the body is critical to success in
the drug discovery and development arena.
Positron emission tomography (PET) can provide images of exceptionally high
sensitivity (i.e. concentration <10-8 M) and relatively high
accuracy. The challenge for
improving the prospects for PET in drug development and risk assessment is in
our ability to improve spatial resolution to the order of 1 mm.
At
the ARC COE Anti-matter Matter (a collection 15 international recognised
institutes) we are studying the interactions of positrons with matter to
understand both chemical and structural nature of molecules and materials. We use concepts and strategies of the radiopharmaceutical
industry to establish relationship between structure and function in the
nanotechnology field. The talk
will explore how positron science can be used to can play an important role in the
design of novel target agents and materials for medical and industrial applications.