University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Biology

Derivation and Characterization of a Transgene-free Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Line and Conversion into Defined Clinical-grade Conditions

Jason P. Awe¹, Agustin Vega-Crespo¹, James A. Byrne^1,2

¹Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), ²Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

We describe a protocol for deriving lentiviral-based reprogrammed and characterized factor-free human induced pluripotent stem cells and conversion into putative clinical-grade conditions.

Chemistry

Automation of a Positron-emission Tomography (PET) Radiotracer Synthesis Protocol for Clinical Production

Eric Schopf^*1, Christopher M. Waldmann^*2,3, Jeffrey Collins^2,4, Christopher Drake¹, Roger Slavik^2,3, R. Michael van Dam^2,4

¹SOFIE, ²Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), ³Ahmanson Translational Imaging Division, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), ⁴Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging sites that are involved in multiple early clinical research trials need robust and versatile radiotracer manufacturing capabilities. Using the radiotracer [¹⁸F]Clofarabine as an example, we illustrate how to automate the synthesis of a radiotracer using a flexible, cassette-based radiosynthesizer and validate the synthesis for clinical use.

Chemistry

Optimization of Radiochemical Reactions using Droplet Arrays

Alejandra Rios^1,2, Travis S. Holloway^2,3, Jia Wang^2,4, R. Michael van Dam^1,2,3,4

¹Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), ²Crump Institute of Molecular Imaging, UCLA, ³Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, ⁴Department of Bioengineering, UCLA

This method describes the use of a novel high-throughput methodology, based on droplet chemical reactions, for the rapid and economical optimization of radiopharmaceuticals using nanomole amounts of reagents.