Caliper Life Sciences has introduced the Xenolight Rediject COX-2 probe (fluorocoxibs), a fluorescent imaging agent designed to enable personalised medicine research.
The fluorescent probe for pre-clinical research specifically detects the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) biomarker non-invasively in live animal models as well as in ex vivo tissue analysis applications.
The COX-2 fluorescent probe technology was invented at the research laboratory of Dr Lawrence Marnett at Vanderbilt University and is licensed to Caliper.
Prof Andrew Dannenberg at Weill Cornell Medical College said: 'COX-2 is over-expressed in a variety of inflammatory and neoplastic diseases.
'The opportunity to non-invasively image COX-2 offers promise for both the early detection of disease and monitoring therapeutic response.
'The flurocoxib probe should be valuable to investigators in multiple disciplines, including cancer research,' he added.
Researchers can gain an understanding of therapeutic efficacy in specific patient populations by monitoring key biomarker response to a drug treatment.
These findings then help tailor patient-specific therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes and advance the scope of personalised medicine.
For example, COX-2 detection in tumours has become an important tool in predicting the outcome of various chemotherapy treatments, including advanced lung cancer.
Caliper's Rediject COX-2 probe provides the ability to non-invasively detect COX-2 in early-stage cancer cells, with a level of sensitivity and accuracy not attainable by conventional methods.
