Lecture, two hours; discussion, two hours. Introduction to advanced concepts in chemistry of radiopharmaceuticals and technologies for radiopharmaceutical production and analysis. Areas of focus are (1) radiochemistry with fluorine-18 and other isotopes, (2) technologies for synthesis automation and optimization, (3) analytical instrumentation and tools in radiochemistry, and (4) PET tracer design and development. Introduction to multistep process of target identification, tracer design, radiosynthesis development, in vitro and in vivo tracer evaluation, radiochemistry automation for routine production, and preparation of clinical grade doses (as prerequisite for clinical translation of novel molecular imaging tracers). Lectures covering fundamentals complemented with practical sessions that provide hands-on training with technologies and methods used in routine synthesis, synthesis optimization, analysis (and quality control testing), and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of PET probes. S/U or letter grading.
