The radiopharmaceutical research program functions in concert with radiochemistry, organic chemistry, organic and organometallic synthesis, molecular modeling, genetic engineering and combinatorial chemistry for preparing precursors of desired organic structure and biological properties, and radiolabeling of precursor molecules with radioisotopes of appropriate half-lives and energy properties suitable for clinical investigations and potential human clinical use for diagnosis and therapy.

Radiochemistry and radiolabeling synthesis for attaching radioisotopes to organic structures is an integral part of radiopharmaceutical development for which radioisotopes are available from commercial resources or collaborative arrangements. Positron emission tomography (PET) research, a relatively large part of radiotracer research, continues to support cyclotron production of certain highly selected radioisotopes such as fluorine-18 and carbon-11, used in PET diagnosis research. These radioisotopes are short lived (half-life ranging from few minutes to approximately 2 hours) and must be produced onsite from a cyclotron dedicated to a PET facility immediately before planned clinical or research use.

Drugs and other protein, nucleic acid, and steroid based new pharmaceuticals are prepared, radiolabeled, and screened in laboratory animals for tumor, heart and brain specificity, and targeting cancer and diseases and disorders of the brain and heart.

Radiotracers with optimum properties showing brain, heart, and cancer specificity through preliminary biological screening are chosen for preclinical evaluation to study clinical potential in humans for diagnosis and therapy.

Program Contact:

Prem C. Srivastava, Ph.D.
e-mail: prem.srivastava@science.doe.gov