The Chemical Scaffold of Theranostic Radiopharmaceuticals: Radionuclide, Bifunctional Chelator, and Pharmacokinetics Modifying Linker

Abstract

Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals have been researched extensively in the last decade as a result of the growing research interest in personalized medicine to improve diagnostic accuracy and intensify intensive therapy while limiting side effects. Radiometal-based drugs are of substantial interest because of their greater versatility for clinical translation compared to non-metal radionuclides. This paper comprehensively discusses various components commonly used as chemical scaffolds to build radiopharmaceutical agents, i.e., radionuclides, pharmacokinetic-modifying linkers, and chelators, whose characteristics are explained and can be used as a guide for the researcher.

Keywords

• radiopharmaceuticals
• theranostics
• radionuclide
• chelator
• pharmacokinetic-modifying linker