radiometals

Radiometals are radioactive isotopes of metallic elements used in medicine, research, and industry for imaging, therapy, and radiochemical labeling. As metals, they differ from non-metal radioisotopes in their chemical behavior and complexation chemistry, which enables them to be bound to targeting molecules or nanoparticles. Most radiometals are produced in nuclear reactors or particle accelerators and then isolated from target material; many are supplied via generator systems, such as technetium-99m from molybdenum-99.

In radiopharmaceutical applications, radiometals are typically bound to chelators such as DOTA or NOTA to form stable complexes that can be attached to antibodies, peptides, or small molecules. This allows targeting of specific tissues or receptors with high specificity.

Common diagnostic radiometals include technetium-99m, gallium-68, zirconium-89, copper-64, and indium-111; these are used in SPECT or PET imaging. Therapeutic radiometals include lutetium-177, yttrium-90, actinium-225, and terbium-149 or others, used for beta- or alpha-emitting targeted therapies.

Safety and regulatory oversight govern handling due to ionizing radiation. Production challenges include isotope availability, half-life matching to biological processes, and achieving high radiochemical purity and in vivo stability.

Ongoing research aims to expand the radiometal toolkit, improve targeting, optimize dosimetry, and develop new generators and production pathways to support clinical diagnostics and therapy.