Radiochemistry with Halogens and Metal-ions

Modern Radiology and Nuclear Medicine involves a plethora of diagnostic and therapeutic options for managing patients with different pathologies from heart disease and neurological disorders, to cancer. The power of functional and anatomic imaging methods like positron-emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to provide clinically relevant insight into the biochemistry of disease rests on the design of target-specific molecular imaging probes. Developing methods for incorporating radionuclides into the structure of small-molecules, peptides, proteins, immunoglobulins and nanoparticles is the first step toward advancing the translation of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. Our goals are to explore chemistry at the radiotracer scale, and to identify new radiochemical reactions for labelling different classes of drugs with various nuclides including ¹⁸F, ⁶⁴Cu, ^67/68Ga, ^86/90Y, ⁸⁹Zr, ¹¹¹In and ¹⁷⁷Lu etc. Radiotracers that we develop enter a comprehensive evaluation program, which include detailed studies in vitro and in vivo, aimed at identifying the most promising candidates for subsequent clinical translation.