Imaging is the key to success in translational research and drug development. In order to be successful in drug development, scientists need to compare the pathology of diseases in animals with that of humans; and to measure the efficacy of treatment, or the effects of toxicity. Cell-based assays and molecular imaging give early indications in pre-clinical research of the effectiveness or toxicity of therapeutics. Images acquired from tissue samples and non-invasive scans (CT, MRI, etc.) reveal valuable insights about a disease, its progression, and whether or not a patient is responding.
The focus of the imaging group is to establish ‘in vitro’ and ‘in vivo’ imaging facilities and develop relevant models that can be utilized in the drug discovery programmes at various stages, starting from drug discovery to translational research. Optical imaging provides an economic and powerful visualization tool for research and is readily available. Hence, the task was initiated by establishment of optical imaging systems at microscopic and macroscopic levels.
Our microscopic imaging instrument is a laser confocal microscope that is ideal for the following research areas:
- Signalling pathway analysis in cell cultures for research and drug development
- Tissue biomarker discovery and validation
- Microenvironment analysis
- Live cell imaging
- Studies in 3D cell models
- Zebrafish studies for safety profiling
- Zebrafish oncology models
Molecular imaging is a new biomedical research discipline enabling visualization, characterization and quantification of biological processes taking place at the cellular and subcellular levels within intact living subjects including small organisms like zebrafish, the most utilized rodent models, and human patients. The images produced with molecular imaging reflect cellular and molecular pathways and mechanisms of the disease present in the context of the living subject. Molecular imaging by using an in vivo optical imaging system enables non-invasive, real-time, quick and quantitative evaluation of the imaging probe in the animal models, over a long time without sacrificing the animals. In comparison to the decades-old conventional animal model techniques, the in vivo optical imaging method is high-throughput, economic and provides more robust data. Our in vivo optical imaging system can be used for the following applications in various fields like oncology, metabolic disorders and infectious diseases:
- Monitoring disease development and progression
- Monitoring tumor metastasis, angiogenesis, extravasations, etc.
- Drug targeting and distribution studies
- Efficacy studies