University of Tours, Tours, France

Laboratoire biophysique médicale et pharmaceutique

[Scientific staff | Publications within DiMI | References]

Group Description

Original aspect of the group of Tours is to be based on SPECT and PET molecular imaging with the aim of understanding, diagnosis and treating CNS disorders, beginning with the development of new radiopharmaceutical products (conception, synthesis, radiosynthesis), to animal studies (evaluation of new tracers, and study of mechanisms guiding the choice of new molecular targets for exploration), and finally resulting in clinical applications (neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders). The feasibility of our scientific project is based on a multidisciplinary team combining complementary competence, i.e. clinical (neurologists, neuropediatric doctors), experimental neurobiology, imaging (nuclear physicians, radiopharmacists, chemists) and technological expertise. This approach uses radiopharmaceutical products (g or b emitters) specific to the molecular targets being explored. The development of these tracers requires multidisciplinary competence from chemistry to medicine, and requires several key-steps: 1) conception, synthesis and radiolabelling of new compounds, 2) pharmacological validation (affinity, specificity for the molecular target) in vitro and ex vivo in animals, 3) in vivo validation in small animals, in normal conditions and in animal models of human disorders [read more].