From February 1, Taiyo Nippon Sanso started to produce and sell Water-17O, a stable isotope of oxygen, as a reagent for researching purposes. Applications to the analysis of brain nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s type dementia can be much expected.

For production they will use Shunan Sanso (Shunan City, Yamaguchi) which is TNSC’s third stable isotope plant. The by-product gas generated from the process of Water-18O will be utilized. TNSC has so far been supplying Hokkaido University Hospital with a contrast agents for 17O-MRI testing containing Water-17O, but has started to sell it as a reagent for research with the anticipated upcoming demand for the analysis of protein waste products in brain which may cause Alzheimer’s dementia or other cognitive disorders and also the increasing requirements for studies of fluid dynamics inside body.　

It was the first case in Japan of a successful production of Water-17O and also the world-first establishment of the production method utilizing the cryogenic separation method.
At present Shunan Sanso’s production capacity of the reagent is 30kg per year, but it is planning to study and develop expansion of the production capacity from now on.

As regards the future sales policy, the company says, “The world keen attention was so much paid to the fluid dynamics in brain and removal of waste products as seen in the session provided in the ISMRM Annual Meeting of last year. As for Water-17O, we intend to look for needs in the global market.”