IAEA Contribution to Nanosized Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals for Drug Delivery

The rapidly growing interest in the application of nanoscience in the future design of radiopharmaceuticals and the development of nanosized radiopharmaceuticals in the late 2000 ' s, resulted in the creation of a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2014. This CRP entitled 'Nanosized delivery systems for radiopharmaceuticals' involved a team of expert scientist from various member states. This team of scientists worked on a number of cutting-edge areas of nanoscience with a focus on developing well-defined, highly effective and site-specific delivery systems of radiopharmaceuticals. Specifically, focus areas of various teams of scientists comprised of the development of nanoparticles (NPs) based on metals, polymers, and gels, and their conjugation/encapsulation or decoration with various tumor avid ligands such as peptides, folates, and small molecule phytochemicals. The research and development efforts also comprised of developing optimum radiolabeling methods of various nano vectors using diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides including Tc-99m, Ga-68, Lu-177 and Au-198. Concerted efforts of teams of scientists within this CRP has resulted in the development of various protocols and guidelines on delivery systems of nanoradiopharmaceuticals, training of numerous graduate students/post-doctoral fellows and publications in peer reviewed journals while establishing numerous productive scientific networks in various participating member states. Some of the innovative nanoconstructs were chosen for further preclinical applications-all aimed at ultimate clinical translation for treating human cancer patients. This review article summarizes outcomes of this major international scientific endeavor

Education and training for the Radiation Safety Related to the Radiopharmaceutical

Objectives: The importance of education and training for the radiation safety related to the radiopharmaceuticals became a need in all area of production and application of radiopharmaceuticals, for clinical and research purpose. To create the educational program and training that include application of International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS) together with Good Radiopharmaceutical Practice is one of general starting point to cover all the aspect of the application of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic, both SPECT and PET and therapeutical purpose for all practices and interventions. Methods: To establish the program of education and training for Good Radiation Safety Practice related to the usage of radiopharmaceuticals is important tool for all individuals working with radiopharmaceuticals. They have a responsibility to take all reasonable precautions to protect patients; to protect members of the general public; to protect their colleagues; and most importantly to protect themselves from unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation. Education and suitable training that include regular and continuing education as an formal and not formal approach in: Design and construction of facilitieas of production and application of radiopharmaceuticals; Local radiation safety rules and procedures for quality control;Preparedness;Equipment; Monitoring of the personnel and environment. Results: All types of education and training in national and international level must to ensure that all radiopharmaceutical preparations and administration procedures should be carried under well-defined and controlled conditions. Good housekeeping is important and all work areas should be kept clean and tidy, all radionuclide containers must be safely stored and readily available, adequate supplies of consumables must be available within easy reach of staff performing radiopharmacy work, unnecessary visits to the radiopharmacy should be discouraged and contaminated sharp items such as needles must be safely stored behind shielding. Regular obligatory records should be kept of: Receipt and disposal of radioactive materials; All individual preparations for patient administration, including the patient’s name, radiopharmaceutical used, activity and date; Quality control testing of the radionuclide calibrator and other instruments Regular surveys (preferably weekly) of contamination must be performed. A decontamination kit should be held in or near the radiopharmacy. A sensitive radiation monitor must be available at all times in the radiopharmacy for contamination checking, not only of surfaces, but also ofhands, clothing and disposables. Conclusions: To have well trained competent staff who have the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with radioactive pharmaceutical products must be the goal of each institution involved in production and application of radiopharmaceuticals including its own quality assurance programme to ensure that the products administered to patients are of the desired quality. This requires to develop an appropriate education and training for the radiation safety related to the radiopharmaceuticals as one of the vital component in the assurance of quality of administrated radiopharmaceuticals

Copper-64 based radiopharmaceuticals for brain tumors and hypoxia imaging

The most common and aggressive primary malignancy of the central nervous system is Glioblastoma that, as a wide range of malignant solid tumor, is characterized by extensive hypoxic regions. A great number of PET radiopharmaceuticals have been developed for the identification of hypoxia in solid tumors, among these, we find copper-based tracers. The aim of the current review paper was to provide an overview of radiocopper compounds applied for preclinical and clinical research in brain tumors and hypoxia imaging or therapy

Review Article 188 W/ 188 Re Generator System and Its Therapeutic Applications

The 188 Re radioisotope represents a useful radioisotope for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic applications, particularly because of its favorable nuclear properties. The nuclide decay pattern is through the emission of a principle beta particle having 2.12 MeV maximum energy, which is enough to penetrate and destroy abnormal tissues, and principle gamma rays ( = 155 keV), which can efficiently be used for imaging and calculations of radiation dose

Iaea contribution to the development of ⁶⁴cu radiopharmaceuticals for theranostic applications

Copper-64 is a very attractive radioisotope with unique nuclear properties that allow using it as both a diagnostic and therapeutic agent, thus providing an almost ideal example of a theranostic radionuclide. A characteristic of Cu-64 stems from the intrinsic biological nature of copper ions that play a fundamental role in a large number of cellular processes. Cu-64 is a radionuclide that reflects the natural biochemical pathways of Cu-64 ions, therefore, can be exploited for the detection and therapy of certain malignancies and metabolic diseases. Beside these applications of Cu-64 ions, this radionuclide can be also used for radiolabelling bifunctional chelators carrying a variety of pharmacophores for targeting different biological substrates. These include peptide-based substrates and immunoconjugates as well as small-molecule bioactive moieties. Fueled by the growing interest of Member States (MS) belonging to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) community, a dedicated Coordinated Research Project (CRP) was initiated in 2016, which recruited thirteen participating MS from four continents. Research activities and collaborations between the participating countries allowed for collection of an impressive series of results, particularly on the production, preclinical evaluation and, in a few cases, clinical evaluation of various 64Cu-radiopharmaceuticals that may have potential impact on future development of the field. Since this CRP was finalized at the beginning of 2020, this short review summarizes outcomes, outputs and results of this project with the purpose to propagate to other MS and to the whole scientific community, some of the most recent achievements on this novel class of theranostic 64Cu-radiopharmaceticals

IAEA Activities on 67Cu, 186Re, 47Sc Theranostic Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals

International audienceDespite interesting properties, the use of 67Cu, 186Re and 47Sc theranostic radionuclides in preclinical studies and clinical trials is curtailed by their limited availability due to a lack of widely established production methods. An IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) was initiated to identify important technical issues related to the production and quality control of these emerging radionuclides and related radiopharmaceuticals, based on the request from IAEA Member States. The international team worked on targetry, separation, quality control and radiopharmaceutical aspects of the radionuclides obtained from research reactors and cyclotrons leading to preparation of a standard recommendations for all Member States. The CRP was initiated in 2016 with fourteen participants from thirteen Member States from four continents. Extraordinary results on the production, quality control and preclinical evaluation of selected radionuclides were reported in this project that was finalized in 2020. The outcomes, outputs and results of this project achieved by participating Member States are described in this minireview

IAEA activities on 67Cu, 186Re, 47Sc Theranostic radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals

Despite interesting properties, the use of 67Cu, 186Re and 47Sc theranostic radionuclides in preclinical studies and clinical trials is curtailed by their limited availability due to a lack of widely established production methods. An IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) was initiated to identify important technical issues related to the production and quality control of these emerging radionuclides and related radiopharmaceuticals, based on request from IAEA Member States. The international team worked on targetry, separation, quality control and radiopharmaceutical aspects of the radionuclides obtained from research reactors and cyclotrons leading to preparation of a standard recommendations for all Member States. The CRP was initiated in 2016 with fourteen participants from thirteen Member States from four continents. Extraordinary results on the production, quality control and preclinical evaluation of selected radionuclides were reported in this project that was finalized in 2020. The outcomes, outputs and results of this project achieved by participating Member States are described in this minireview