In Vivo Imaging and Biodistribution Services

In vivo imaging allows tumor burden, reporter signal, and treatment response to be measured repeatedly in the same living animal. That capability changes what a study can establish. A conventional design assessing burden by terminal sampling compares different animals at each timepoint, so every measurement carries inter-animal variance. An imaged study follows each animal against its own baseline, which reduces variance, reduces the number of animals required, and makes it possible to observe the trajectory of a response rather than infer it from endpoints.

Altogen Labs provides in vivo imaging and biodistribution services for longitudinal monitoring of biological signal, tumor burden, tissue localization, and treatment response. Imaging is incorporated into efficacy, pharmacology, delivery, and biodistribution protocols where the model and reporter system are appropriate. To discuss whether a program would benefit from an imaged design, request a quote.

Bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging

Validated reporter systems permit noninvasive longitudinal monitoring in living animals. Bioluminescent models are particularly useful in orthotopic, disseminated, and systemic disease settings where caliper measurement is not merely inconvenient but impossible. A tumor in the pancreas, brain, or bone marrow cannot be measured externally, and without imaging such studies are limited to survival endpoints and staged terminal cohorts.

Fluorescent reporters and probes are used where compatible with the study objective and detection system. Where a suitable reporter line does not exist for a program, one can be generated through reporter stable cell line development, so the imaging strategy can be built for the model rather than the model chosen for the imaging.

Biodistribution studies

Biodistribution studies combine in vivo signal monitoring with terminal tissue collection to assess localization of a test article, formulation, reporter signal, or biological response across selected organs. Longitudinal imaging establishes where material accumulates and how that changes with time; terminal collection quantifies it and permits molecular confirmation in the same tissue.

The organ panel is defined by the delivery route and the intended target rather than collected uniformly, though clearance organs are included regardless, since the proportion of an administered dose diverted to liver, spleen, and kidney is usually the explanation when target tissue accumulation is lower than expected.

Integrated study workflows

Imaging combines with reporter cell lines, xenograft efficacy studies, in vivo delivery, PK/PD sampling, necropsy, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, molecular analysis, and tissue preservation. Imaging schedule and endpoints are defined before study initiation, since acquisition parameters must be held constant across the study for signal to be comparable between timepoints.

Model applications

Applications include subcutaneous, orthotopic, metastatic and disseminated, hematologic, and other approved in vivo models where a validated imaging strategy is available. The benefit is greatest where burden cannot be measured by other means, and correspondingly smaller in a subcutaneous flank study where calipers already provide a direct measurement.

Applied examples

Orthotopic glioma. A luciferase-tagged glioma line is implanted intracranially and imaged at intervals through treatment, providing a burden trajectory for each animal in a model where no external measurement is possible.

Disseminated leukemia. A systemic model is imaged longitudinally to follow whole-body burden and organ-level localization, distinguishing clearance from one compartment while disease persists in another.

Formulation distribution. A fluorescently labeled formulation is imaged after administration and confirmed at necropsy by ex vivo organ imaging and tissue analysis, relating whole-animal signal to quantified tissue content.

Capability scope and acquisition standards

The imaging capabilities offered are bioluminescence and fluorescence, together with terminal biodistribution analysis. Altogen Labs does not represent magnetic resonance, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, or single photon emission tomography as service capabilities; where scientific literature discusses those modalities, it is background rather than an offering.

Acquisition parameters, imaging schedule, substrate administration timing where applicable, and quantification method are fixed before the study opens and held constant throughout, since varying any of them between timepoints makes the resulting signal incomparable. All procedures are conducted under active IACUC protocols, including anesthesia for each imaging session and limits on the frequency of repeated anesthesia. GLP standards are applied where a study is formally designated as GLP.

Send model, reporter status, and monitoring requirements, or request a quote.