A Letter from The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

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OVCR Annual ReportFiscal Year 2011Technology Management & Intellectual PropertyTechnology Highlights for Fiscal Year 2011Cardiac ImagingBy using new analysis and computation techniques, coupled with existing Magnetic ResonanceImaging (MRI) techniques, a clear picture of the expansion and contraction of the heart can bemade. The resulting precise image can be used clinically by cardiologists and surgeons todetermine the proper type of treatment. Primary Investigator: Michael Pasque, Surgery. Thistechnology has been exclusively licensed to a St. Louis startup company: CardioWise, Inc.BarIC ProbeCerebral shunt malfunction is a life threatening problem which can be often very difficult todiagnose and treat. Each year, approximately 40,000 shunt related operations are performed and40% of shunts fail during the first year after implantation. Symptoms of shunt malfunction areambiguous and often lead to costly evaluations and hospital admissions. The most direct way todetermine shunt malfunction and hydrocephalus is measuring intracranial pressure (ICP)through a surgical procedure. Delays in diagnosis/treatment may cause health and cognitiveproblems. A noninvasive ICP monitoring process is not currently available. BarICProbe is animplantable intracranial pressure monitor that can be easily and non-invasively interrogated byexternal ultrasound. The device is consistent with shunt implantation techniques and can beimplanted concurrently. The BarICProbe is small, MRI-compatible, and bio-compatible. Theease of use and chronic ability of BarICProbe will improve patient outcomes through its abilityto diagnose problems in an ambulatory setting, more appropriate timing of surgery, and theavoidance of unnecessary admissions and tests. Primary Investigator: Eric Leuthardt,Neurosurgery. The BarIC Probe has been exclusively licensed to a Boston-area startupcompany: Allied Minds Devices, LLC.High Throughput Liquid Film ElectrosprayExisting atomization and electrospray techniques permit only one or two grams of material anhour due to the design of the capillaries. For example, electrostatic atomization of foodadditives, such as coloring agents, stabilizers and alcohols, cannot be achieved in the volumesrequired with existing techniques. This invention is a new design of an atomization head thatpermits pounds of material per hour deposition and should be able to be scaled up considerably.Primary Investigator: Da-Ren ChenA Process for Making Copper Nanostructures Below 24nm SizeThe wires made with this process are ~ one-half the diameter of the thinnest Cu nanowire madein commercial processes today. Although gold and silver, inter alia, can be made in the 24nmrange, this is the first process to show the ability to make Cu (a much cheaper material) in suchsizes with the ability to scale up to commercial production rates. Cu nanowires are excellentconductors of electricity, and as the wires get smaller, many more transistors can be put on asingle microprocessor – speeding up and enhancing computer capability. Cu nanowires can alsobe used as catalysts, in displays, heat pipes and solar cells, and to make smaller LEDs and LCDs.Primary Investigator: Younan Xia41
OVCR Annual ReportFiscal Year 2011Technology Management & Intellectual PropertyDichromic Fluorescent CompoundsIt has been discovered that structural asymmetry of chromic compounds results in thegeneration of dichromic emissions that have distinct lifetimes. Because the fluorescent lifetimesof the two peaks are distinct, the information content may be multiplexed. The dichromicfluorescent compounds may advantageously be utilized for several applications includingimaging, diagnostics, to monitor biological events, and for detecting and monitoring molecularprocesses. Primary Investigator: Samuel Achilefu, Radiology.Fluorescent Polymethine Cyanine DyesThe present invention provides compounds that possess a robust C-C bond containing nearinfrared chromophore as optical antenna. The C-C bond allows the development of stable dyesfor imaging and monitoring biological events such as disease-associated enzymatic activity. Thisnovel molecular design offers superior chemical stability for biomedical and analyticalapplications. Because of the biological stability, changes in spectral properties can be attributedaccurately to target biological processes such as monitoring disease-associated enzymatic activity.The C-C coupled dyes also allows for extended pi-bond conjugation, thereby enabling the use ofnew designs to obtain diagnostically useful spectral information such as pH-sensitive response insolid tumors. Primary Investigator: Samuel Achilefu, Radiology.Compounds Having Rd Targeting MotifsThe present invention provides compounds that have motifs that target the compounds to cellsthat express integrins. In particular, the compound shave peptides with one or more RD motifsconjugated to an agent selected from an imaging agent and a targeting agent. These compoundsmay be used to detect, monitor, and treat a variety of integrin-mediated biological processes,including the progression of disease states such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammationand cancer. Primary Investigator: Samuel Achilefu, RadiologyEffective Anti-integrin Antitumor Reagent for ChrondrosarcomaChondrosarcoma is a difficult musculoskeletal tumor to treat. Chemotherapy is only somewhateffective in mesenchymal chondrosarcoma and is of uncertain value in dedifferentiatedchondrosarcoma. Surgical excision is the only tumor treatment, but it leads to severe disabilitywith high rate of local recurrence, often at a higher grade, and can thus be life threatening.Radiation and adjuvant therapy are not effective in differentiated chondrosarcoma. Moreeffective antitumor reagents for chondrosarcoma are needed. The present invention utilizes ananti-integrin reagent which has chondrosarcoma tumor cell killing activity in vitro. Promisinganimal data indicates that this is also true in vivo. Primary Investigator: Linda Sandell,Orthopaedic SurgeryMethods of Prevention snd Treatment of Ischemic DamageThe present invention in various embodiments provides methods of treating stroke andconferring protection on a population of cells associated with ischemia in a subject following anischemic event, comprising: (a) providing an estrogen compound; and (b) administering theeffective amount of the compound over a course that includes at least one dose within a timethat is effectively proximate to the ischemic event, so as to confer protection on the population42
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A Letter from The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

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