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Nuclear medicine finds the right chemistry

Nature Biotechnology volume 17, pages 849–850 (1999)Cite this article

The two major foci of nuclear medicine—non-invasive imaging of organs and the destruction of cancer cells—rely on localization of radioactive compounds within organs of the body. For diagnostic purposes, technetium-99m (99mTc) is the workhorse isotope. In the US alone, roughly 7 million administrations of 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals are performed annually, so it is likely that someone you know will be the recipient of a procedure using this radioisotope. In this issue, a multidisciplinary team of scientists at four European institutions reports a relatively simple procedure that could greatly expand the use of 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosing diseases in humans1. They have developed a new synthesis for a technetium–carbonyl complex that allows direct labeling of single-chain antibodies, while avoiding the use of bulky chelators that can reduce the biological activity of the antibodies.

One of the historical challenges of nuclear medicine has been to develop radiopharmaceuticals that will target a specific site while minimizing nontarget uptake. Early work was limited to those elements that had natural affinity for a given organ, such as iodine for the thyroid or strontium and fluorine for bone. Subsequent efforts focused on developing radiopharmaceuticals with physical characteristics that would dictate their in vivo properties. Suitable molecules for imaging were explored for their ability to be "radiolabeled" with iodine—these included hippuran, rose bengal, albumin, and immunoglobulins. As the imaging limitations of 131I were chronicled, the search for alternative radionuclides increased.

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Figure 1: Synthesis and some substitution reactions of [Tc(CO)3(H 20)3]+, and a normal bone scan with Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. acting director, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, 87545, NM

    Alfred P. Sattelberger

  2. technical staff member in the chemical science and technology division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, 87545, NM

    Robert W. Atcher

Authors
  1. Alfred P. Sattelberger
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  2. Robert W. Atcher
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Sattelberger, A., Atcher, R. Nuclear medicine finds the right chemistry. Nat Biotechnol 17, 849–850 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/12832

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