Volume 60, Issue 11 p. 502-520
REVIEW

Technetium-99m radiochemistry for pharmaceutical applications

Dionysia Papagiannopoulou

Corresponding Author

Dionysia Papagiannopoulou

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Correspondence

Dionysia Papagiannopoulou, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 15 June 2017
Citations: 112

Abstract

Technetium-99m (99mTc) is a widely used radionuclide, and the development of 99mTc imaging agents continues to be in demand. This overview discusses basic principles of 99mTc radiopharmaceutical preparation and design and focuses on the 99mTc radiochemistry relevant to its pharmaceutical applications. The 99mTc complexes are described based on the most typical examples in each category, keeping up with the state-of-the-art in the field. In addition, the main current strategies to develop targeted 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals are summarized.