Nuclear pharmacy

Pharmaceutical drug which emits radiation, used as a diagnostic or therapeutic agent

Nuclear pharmacy, also known as radiopharmacy, involves preparation of radioactive materials for patient administration that will be used to diagnose and treat specific diseases in nuclear medicine. It generally involves the practice of combining a radionuclide tracer with a pharmaceutical component that determines the biological localization in the patient.[1][2] Radiopharmaceuticals are generally not designed to have a therapeutic effect themselves, but there is a risk to staff from radiation exposure and to patients from possible contamination in production.[3] Due to these intersecting risks, nuclear pharmacy is a heavily regulated field.[4][5] The majority of diagnostic nuclear medicine investigations are performed using technetium-99m.[6]

  1. ^ Christian, John E. (June 1948). "The applications of radioactive tracer techniques to pharmacy and pharmaceutical research". Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association (Scientific Ed.). 37 (6): 250–253. doi:10.1002/jps.3030370614. PMID 18865179.
  2. ^ Vallabhajosula, Shankar; Owunwanne, Azu (2006). "Pathophysiology and Mechanisms of Radiopharmaceutical Localization". In Elgazzar, Abdelhamid H. (ed.). The pathophysiologic basis of nuclear medicine (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer. pp. 29–49. ISBN 978-3-540-47953-6.
  3. ^ IAEA (2008). Operational guidance on hospital radiopharmacy: a safe and effective approach. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency. ISBN 978-92-0-106708-1.
  4. ^ Gill, J R; Turner, J L (1995). "Regulatory Requirements for the Dispensing and Supply of Radiopharmaceuticals". In Sampson, Charles B. (ed.). Textbook of radiopharmacy: theory and practice (2nd ed.). Luxembourg: Gordon and Breach. p. 181. ISBN 9782881249730.
  5. ^ Elsinga, Philip; Todde, Sergio; Penuelas, Ivan; Meyer, Geerd; Farstad, Brit; Faivre-Chauvet, Alain; Mikolajczak, Renata; Westera, Gerrit; Gmeiner-Stopar, Tanja; Decristoforo, Clemens (20 March 2010). "Guidance on current good radiopharmacy practice (cGRPP) for the small-scale preparation of radiopharmaceuticals" (PDF). European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 37 (5): 1049–1062. doi:10.1007/s00259-010-1407-3. PMC 2854359. PMID 20306035.
  6. ^ IAEA (2009). Technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals: status and trends. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency. ISBN 978-92-0-103509-7.