Recent advances in emerging radiopharmaceuticals and the challenges in radiochemistry and analytical chemistry

Abstract

Radiopharmaceuticals are of growing interests in the development of theranostic agents and personalized medicine because of their unique advantages. Diagnosis (via molecular imaging) and treatment (via targeted radionuclide therapy) can be achieved simultaneously by altering the radionuclides with minimum effect on the pharmacokinetics of the agent, or by administration at different doses. Theranostic radiopharmaceuticals have advanced both preclinically and clinically, but methods for the production, purification, and analyses of these nuclides remain to be developed and optimized to support growing clinical trials. Herein, we summarized the production, preclinical and clinical development of several theranostic radionuclides and α-particle-emitting radionuclides. We focused on the progress and unmet need in the radiochemistry and analytical chemistry development during the clinical translation of radiopharmaceuticals, as efforts are required to provide guidance in dosimetry and quality control of radiopharmaceuticals in clinical applications.