The FENNECs team develops gadolinium-based nanoparticles for application in humans as radiosensitizing agents and contrast agent in MRI. In the close perspective of their clinical transfer, renal elimination and metabolism of these particles called AGuIX, for Activation and Guidance of the irradiation by X-ray, have recently been described and published in ACS Nano. In addition to the elimination mechanism, this study demonstrates the safety of the nanoparticles on renal function even after repeated administrations. Among the techniques used in this study, a new approach that allows to image the distribution of nanoparticles in the entire organ and without any labeling was used and compared with some gold-standard techniques as confocal microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, or ICP-EOS. This new approach, based on the laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, is developed within the ILM and allows to map and to quantify any elements of a sample.

Together with the toxicity assessment studies, these results will be included in the regular investigation brochure for submission to regulatory agencies prior first-in-human (planned in early 2016).