Patent ID: 7704696
Filing Date: 2010-04-27
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A method of screening a conjugate or conjugate moiety for the capacity to be transported through the blood brain barrier, comprising: (a) providing a cell expressing the OCTN2 transporter, wherein the OCTN2 transporter is the protein encoded by SEQ ID NO: 1 or has at least 90% sequence identity to the protein encoded by SEQ ID NO: 1, and the OCTN2 transporter can transport carnitine, the transporter being situated in the plasma membrane of the cell; (b) contacting the cell with a conjugate or conjugate moiety; (c) determining whether the conjugate or conjugate moiety passes through the plasma membrane via the OCTN2 transporter, passage through the plasma membrane via the OCTN2 transporter indicating that the conjugate or conjugate moiety has the capacity to be transported through the blood brain barrier; and (d) if step (b) comprises contacting the cell with a conjugate moiety and step (c) determines that the conjugate moiety passes through the plasma membrane via the OCTN2 transporter, then linking the conjugate moiety to a neuropharmaceutical agent or to an imaging component to form a conjugate and repeating steps (a) through (c) with the conjugate; and (e) determining that the conjugate or conjugate moiety is transported by at least one efflux transporter, wherein the at least one efflux transporter is selected from the glycoprotein (PgP) transporter, the multi-drug resistance protein (MRP1) transporter, and the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) transporters; wherein: