Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.59, No.17, 12209-12217, 2020
Perturbed Angular Correlation as a Tool to Study Precursors for Radiopharmaceuticals
One of the key components of radiopharmaceuticals for targeting imaging and therapy is a stable bifunctional chelating system to attach radionuclides to selective delivery systems. After-effects of radioactive decay can cause the release of a radioactive isotope from its chelation agent. Perturbed angular correlation (PAC) of gamma-rays has become a unique technique to study the behavior of complexes formed between a chelating agent and radionuclide in vivo (in real time) over a relevant range of concentrations (10(-12) M). In the present work, four radionuclides, In-111, Cd-111m, and Eu-152,Eu-154, were investigated with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) at different pH values to determine the stability constants of the complexes as well as the effects of post-decay processes, which play a major role in determining the suitability of these complexes for application as radiopharmaceuticals (e.g., in vivo generators). The study provides a convenient parameter for the characterization of radionuclide-chelator systems using the PAC method. PAC is proven to be a suitable tool to study novel chelators and radiopharmaceutical precursors attached to radiometals.