Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging Service in Animal Models of Stroke

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a unique tool for imaging brain metabolism and function with a wide range of applications in neuroscience. PET images are generated after injection of a tracer molecule that is radiolabeled with a high-energy positron emitter isotope but with a short half-life (from minutes to hours). The main advantage of this technique is the generation of tomographic images and the possibility of obtaining complete quantitative information about the molecules in the organism. Small animal PET provides quantitative measurements of the 3-dimensional distribution of radiopharmaceuticals administered noninvasively to living subjects by imaging rats, mice, and other animals with a dedicated PET scanner.

Fig. 1. [18F] FDG/PET is an important tool for stroke study. (Schirmer et al., 2023)

Our Services

Ace Therapeutics's expertise in small animal PET imaging and related ex vivo techniques provide a state-of-the-art, comprehensive toolkit for assessing pathophysiology and drug action in animal models of ischemic stroke. Our small animal PET imaging can detect cellular dysfunction and morphological damage that occurs after ischemic stroke and allows for regional assessment of metabolic variables and positional mapping of molecular markers.

Ace Therapeutics offers a variety of radiotracers to measure the pathophysiological consequences of cardiac arrest (CA) and ischemic stroke. All studies can be customized to meet customer needs.

• ¹⁸F-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) for imaging glucose metabolism in ischemic brain damage
• ¹⁵O-H₂O for imaging cerebral blood flow (CBF)
• ¹⁵O₂/FMISO for imaging cerebral oxygen metabolism after ischemic stroke
• Translocator protein (TSPO) ligands such as [¹⁸F]-CPFPX, ¹¹C-(R)PK11195, ^18F-TSPO, ^11C-PBR28, ^11C-DPA713 for neuroinflammatory imaging
• [¹⁸F] SynVesT-1 (SDM8) for synaptic density imaging
• [^1aF]-BMS, [ ^1aF]-BCPP-EF, [^1aF]-BCPP-BF, and [^11C]-BCPP-EM for imaging cell damage and death
• Customized PET radiotracers for customer needs

We can combine PET imaging with CT imaging or MRI to output combined data of radioactive tracer accumulation and atomic positioning to accurately map the anatomy and pathological changes in stroke brain damage.

We can also combine PET imaging results with behavioral and biochemical readouts to provide translational preclinical data.

Applications of Our Services

Our positron emission tomography imaging services allow us to assist clients in:

• Investigating the mechanisms of ischemic brain injury, including cerebral ischemia and reperfusion, oxygen and glucose depletion, and neuroinflammation.
• Developing new biomarkers for stroke diagnosis.
• Evaluating new drugs for stroke.

Ace Therapeutics provides reliable PET imaging technology and tracers to track and evaluate pathological changes in the brain following ischemic brain injury. We aim to accelerate your stroke research. If you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate to contact us!

1. Schirmer, B. G. A., et al. (2023). [18F] FDG/PET: a non-invasive technique for the study of stroke in murine and rat models. Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences, 11(2), 01-25.