About this Research Topic
The use of radionuclides in the field of nuclear medicine for monitoring and treating different types of cancers has considerably increased over the last two decades. However, the application of different radionuclides for nuclear medicine applications is still limited due to their scarce accessibility. To date, only a limited number of therapeutic and diagnostic radionuclides are available for routine clinical targeted radionuclide therapy (e.g., 90Y, 177Lu, 131I, 223Ra) or diagnosis (e.g. 123I, 67Ga, 68Ga). The availability of a variety of novel diagnostic (PET, SPECT) and therapeutic (Auger electron, Conversion electron, β-- particle and α-emitting radionuclides) and a thorough exploration of their clinical effects will pave the way toward more efficient treatments. On the other hand, radionuclide therapy is a truly multidisciplinary approach, and to move forward, it is important to build bridges between physicists, radiochemists, inorganic chemists, biologists, pharmacologists, clinicians, oncologists, medical physicists and dosimetrist. The development of new and effective radiopharmaceuticals up to the clinic requires strong cooperation between all these disciplines.
The purpose of this Research Topic is the investigation of production methods for novel and promising radionuclides and innovative radiopharmaceuticals. The production of novel radionuclides is the first step towards the development of new and effective radiopharmaceuticals, which directly affect the quality of preclinical and clinical phases. To produce them in a sufficient quality and activity, a systematic research should be performed in targetry, irradiation processes and radiochemical separation methods. Moreover, the production of radiopharmaceuticals is dependent on ligand design to yield stable coordination complexes with the appropriate functionality. Favourable combinations of radionuclide, carrier molecule and labelling procedure are crucial to develop radiopharmaceuticals.
The aim of the current Research Topic is to cover the production of novel medical radionuclides and innovative radiopharmaceuticals. We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Targetry for medical radionuclides
• Novel production routes for medical radionuclides
• Development of chemical separation methods
• Ligand design for metal based radiopharmaceuticals
• Theragnostic radiopharmaceuticals
• Quality control of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals
The purpose of this Research Topic is the investigation of production methods for novel and promising radionuclides and innovative radiopharmaceuticals. The production of novel radionuclides is the first step towards the development of new and effective radiopharmaceuticals, which directly affect the quality of preclinical and clinical phases. To produce them in a sufficient quality and activity, a systematic research should be performed in targetry, irradiation processes and radiochemical separation methods. Moreover, the production of radiopharmaceuticals is dependent on ligand design to yield stable coordination complexes with the appropriate functionality. Favourable combinations of radionuclide, carrier molecule and labelling procedure are crucial to develop radiopharmaceuticals.
The aim of the current Research Topic is to cover the production of novel medical radionuclides and innovative radiopharmaceuticals. We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Targetry for medical radionuclides
• Novel production routes for medical radionuclides
• Development of chemical separation methods
• Ligand design for metal based radiopharmaceuticals
• Theragnostic radiopharmaceuticals
• Quality control of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals
Keywords: Nuclear Medicine, Targetry, Radionuclide Production, Separation Chemistry, Radiopharmaceutical
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
