Tumors “Light Up” With Scorpion Venom And A Laser, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Study

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Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery have developed a unique, compact, relatively inexpensive imaging device to “light up” malignant brain tumors and other cancers. The experimental system consists of a special camera designed and developed at Cedars-Sinai and a new, targeted imaging agent based on a synthetic version of a small protein – a peptide – found in the venom of the deathstalker scorpion. The imaging agent, Tumor Paint BLZ-100, a product of Blaze Bioscience Inc., homes to brain tumor cells. When stimulated by a laser in the near-infrared part of the spectrum, it emits a glow that is invisible to the eye but can be captured by the camera.

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