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Magnetic Resonance imaging

MRI Gastronauten.jpg

Like the Earth’s magnetic field helps us to avoid unwanted radiation from outer space, the technique of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can help us to avoid unwanted radiation in the emerging field of biopharmaceutical imaging. In the always more demanding regulatory background, the avoidance of radiation exposure as well as the excellent anatomical resolution and the various possible image contrasts made MRI a valuable tool especially in oral biopharmaceutics, superior to other imaging techniques in plenty of tasks. The biopharmaceutical application of clinical MRI systems allows us direct and noninvasive evaluation of physiological and external parameters in GI tract affecting the performance of oral dosage forms. Moreover, a relatively unproblematic combination with pharmacokinetics in blood or saliva is possible. Besides our main topics, MRI can also be applied to evaluate gastrointestinal motility or the structure and detailed swelling and disintegration behavior of dosage forms.

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 The Gastronauts do have experience in the utilization
of MRI for the following topics:

  • Determination of fluid volumes and their
    distribution and kinetics in all gastrointestinal
    compartments

  • Noninvasive evaluation of physicochemical
    properties of GI fluids

  • Tracking and direct evaluation of in vivo performance
    of different oral dosage forms

  • Intraocular and intramuscular drug delivery

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Publications:

  1. M. Sager, M. Grimm, P. Jedamzik, S. Merdivan, M.-L. Kromrey, M. Hasan, M. Koziolek,M. Tzvetkov, W. Weitschies.  2019. Combined application of MRI and the salivary tracer technique to determine the in vivo disintegration time of immediate release formulation administered to healthy, fasted subjects. Mol. Pharm. In press.

  2. M. Grimm, K. Ball, E. Scholz, F. Schneider, A. Sievert, H. Benameur, M.-L. Kromrey, J.-P. Kühn, W. Weitschies. Characterization of the gastrointestinal transit and disintegration behavior of floating and sinking acid-resistant capsules using a novel MRI labeling technique. Eur. J. Pharm. Sci. 129 (2019) 163-172

  3. M. Grimm, M. Koziolek, M. Saleh, F. Schneider, G. Garbacz, J. Kühn, W. Weitschies. Gastric emptying and small bowel water content after administration of grapefruit juice compared to water and iso-caloric solutions of glucose and fructose: a four-way crossover MRI pilot study in healthy subjects, Mol. Pharm. 15 (2018) 548-559

  4. M. Grimm, M. Koziolek, J. Kühn, W. Weitschies. Interindividual and intraindividual variability of fasted state gastric fluid volume and gastric emptying of water. Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 127 (2018) 309-317

  5. M. Grimm, E. Scholz, M. Koziolek, J. Kühn, W. Weitschies, Gastric water emptying under fed state clinical trial conditions is as fast as under fasted conditions. Mol. Pharm.  14 (2017) 4262-4271

  6. M. Koziolek, M. Grimm, G. Garbacz, J.P. Kühn, W. Weitschies. Intragastric volume changes after intake of a high-caloric, high-fat standard breakfast in healthy human subjects investigated by MRI. Mol. Pharm. 11 (2014) 1632-1639

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