Oropharynx CA obtained with [18F]FDG and [[18F]FLT. The differences of physiological uptake in brain (FDG) and bone marrow (FLT) are noteworthy. | © dkfz.de

For the routine production of radiopharmaceuticals and for the investigation of new substances either long-lived, commercially available radioisotopes or short-lived radioisotopes are used, which are produced at the local cyclotron facility. The latter radioisotopes include the positron emitters ¹⁸F, ¹¹C, ¹⁵O and ⁶⁴Cu. The pharmaceutical, at which the radioisotope is chemically bound, can be considered as a transport vehicle, helping to direct the radioactivity into tumors. Such transporter molecules are synthesized in chemistry laboratories and tested for their pharmacological characteristics. In case the parameters match the required standards, radiochemical syntheses finalize the chemical part with the above mentioned radioisotopes. Apart from radioisotopes other imaging "probes" are conceivable, which can be exploited as tumor-selective contrast agents. Among others, gadolinium complexes with tumor-selective characteristics are currently considered as hot-topic research for magnet resonance imaging.

At present the following groups are active:

E0301 Radiopharmacy
E0302 Gallium-68 Peptide Imaging Agents
E0303 Drug Transporter
E0304 New Radiopharmaceuticals and
E072 Cyclotron