Isotopic Labeling of Biotherapeutics
HORIZON EUROPE - MSCA - DN - 2021 #101072780 01-02-2023 to 31-01-2027
ISOBIOTICS Doctoral Students Comic Series: Communicating Science Through Storytelling
Project Introduction:
In the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions project ISOBIOTICS, 10 + 1 doctoral candidates from across Europe are investigating how radioactive isotopes such as ¹⁴C, ³H, and ¹⁸F can be incorporated into biologics. Their work aims to support drug development and improve medical diagnostics by enabling scientists to track how medicines behave in the body.
Why the Comic Series:
To make their research accessible to a broader audience, the doctoral candidates collaborated with illustrator Alessandra Alyah Patane to create a series of science comics. The goal was to transform complex scientific concepts into an engaging visual story that can be understood by readers from all backgrounds.
Series Explanation:
The result is a three-part comic series, with each episode dedicated to one radioactive isotope: ¹⁴C, ¹⁸F, and ³H.
Over the next three weeks, the ISOBIOTICS project will release one episode per week, highlighting how these isotopes help scientists understand medicines and diagnose disease.
Episode 1 – Carbon-14
In the first episode, doctoral candidates Justin, Marc, and Anika call on the Carbon-14 superhero to help evaluate the safety of a promising new drug.
Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a half-life of around 5,700 years. Its key property is beta decay, which produces a detectable signal that scientists can use to track molecules with high precision.
By incorporating a small amount of Carbon-14 into a drug molecule, researchers can follow the drug’s ADME journey : absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion and understand how it behaves inside the body.
This information is essential for assessing the safety and effectiveness of new medicines.
👉Discover the first episode below and stay tuned for the next chapters of the ISOBIOTICS comic series.
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Illustration by Alessandra Alyah Patane
The ISOBIOTICS project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Grant Agreement No. 101072780).