Abstract:
Radiopharmaceuticals are a class of drug that rely on the physical decay of a radionuclide to elicit a diagnostic or therapeutic purpose. While organically derived radiotracers, which employ non-metal radionuclides (e.g., 18F, 11C, 123I), have received considerable attention in the field of nuclear medicine, metal-based radiopharmaceuticals are undoubtedly more versatile and hold great promise for the future. Contemporary inorganic radiopharmaceuticals often follow a four-component design, and are comprised of a radionuclide, bifunctional chelator, linker and targeting vector. This talk will focus on two key aspects of the development of improved radiopharmaceuticals; 1) production, radiochemical purification and radiolabeling of a new radionuclide (119Sb) and 2) the synthesis and study of a new chelator (H6dappa) for octadentate metals.