AW: [ RadSafe ] bioavailable form of DTPA

[Franz Schönhofer]

Fred,

Being a chemist, who had decades ago quite extensive training with the then new complexing agents of NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid), EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid) and more complicated and powerful derivates like the DTPA I am a little surprised about this message. I am even more surprised because the use of chelating agents for internal decontamination of people seems to me to be state of the art - there exists even an Austrian standard for that. 

All the NTA, EDTA, DTPA etc. are not easily soluble in water and therefore in the stomach fluids, which is easily overcome by using usually the sodium salts, which are easily soluble - if not, how could they be used to titrate heavy metals then?! Different salts (like Ca-, or Mg-salts) have been used both for analytical purposes and for decontamination. Why should the salts not be bioavailable?

If these thoughts contribute to the success of the research projects I would be satisfied by a share of 500 000 US$ of the grant.

Best regards,

Franz

Franz Schoenhofer, PhD
MinRat i.R.
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Wien/Vienna
AUSTRIA


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] Im Auftrag von Rawlings, Fred
Gesendet: Freitag, 30. November 2007 16:16
An: radsafe at radlab.nl
Betreff: [ RadSafe ] bioavailable form of DTPA 

NIH Awards Professor $3.96 Mil Grant

Media Contact: Ann Blackford<mailto:%61%6e%6e.%62%6c%61%63%6b%66%6f%72%64@%75%6b%79.%65%64%75> Ann Blackford<mailto:ann.blackford at uky.edu?subject=%5BNEWS%5D%20RE%3ANIH%20Awards%20Professor%20%243.96%20Mil%20Grant>, (859) 323-6363, x230
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2007) − A drug therapy to protect the U.S. population from the consequences of nuclear terrorism is being pioneered by scientists at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy<http://www.mc.uky.edu/Pharmacy>. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)<http://www.nih.gov/> awarded Michael Jay, professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the UK College of Pharmacy, $3.96 million over the next two years to develop an orally administered treatment to be used in radiation emergencies such as after exposure to radiological dispersion devices (RDDs) or dirty bombs.

This grant comes in response to the encouraging results from Jay's initial study in 2005 for which the NIH awarded him $1.2 million. Jay and his colleagues, Robert Yokel, professor and associate dean for research and graduate education, Patrick McNamara, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Russ Mumper, professor and director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at the University of North Carolina, began synthesizing a series of compounds and quickly focused in on one that they will continue to study in the current product development phase.

Internal exposure to radioactive material from the detonation of dirty bombs constitutes a health hazard because of the continuous emission of radioactivity to radiosensitive tissues and subsequent development of cell death, organ dysfunction and cancer. Internalization of radioactive material may occur via inhalation, ingestion or through contamination of open wounds which can be transported through the body via the blood.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)<http://www.fda.gov/> has determined that a drug called DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetate) is safe and effective for the treatment of internal contamination. Currently, DPTA is not absorbed very well when administered orally, thus, it must be administered intravenously. The ultimate goal of Jay's study is to develop a highly bioavailable form of DTPA that can be administered orally, can be stored in the Strategic National Stockpile, is stable and has a long shelf-life, can be distributed to the at-risk population in a short period of time, can be self-administered with little risk of toxicity, and can effectively remove radioactivity from a contaminated individual. An orally bioavailable form of DTPA offers many advantages over an injectable form, such as, greater stability, less expense in manufacturing, no need for a trained professional to administer the dose and no risk of bacterial contamination.